More than 1,240 degrees to be conferred at Aug. 17 summer commencement

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Aug. 14, 2013) – A total of 1,180 degree candidates are eligible to participate in the University of Oregon's 2013 summer commencement at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17, on the Memorial Quadrangle.

Scott Coltrane, the UO's interim senior vice president and provost, will speak to graduates during the outdoor ceremony on the lawn between Knight Library and the Lillis Business Complex.

Coltrane, a sociologist whose research focuses in part on fathers and families, served five years as dean of the UO's College of Arts and Sciences before being selected by President Michael Gottfredson to take on the interim position beginning July 1. He received his bachelor's degree in community studies, and his master's degree and doctorate in sociology, all from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Before joining the UO in 2008, he served for 20 years in a variety of teaching, research and administrative positions at the University of California at Riverside.

The friends and families of graduates are welcome to attend the commencement ceremony and no tickets are needed.

Parking is available on nearby streets and in UO parking lots. There will be a drop-off area for guests with disabilities near the Knight Library entrance and designated parking is available at hooded meters on Kincaid Street between 13th and 15th avenues. A sign-language interpreter will be available at the ceremony; guests with impaired hearing are encouraged to sit in the first few rows.

Summer term's 1,180 degree candidates will receive a total of 1,240 degrees and certificates. The university will award 937 bachelor's degrees, 209 master's degrees, 35 doctoral degrees, 42 graduate certificates, 13 undergraduate certificates and four law degrees.

More information is available online at the UO Commencement website.

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

MEDIA CONTACT: Joe Mosley, UO media relations, 541-346-3606, jmosley@uoregon.edu

Note: The University of Oregon is equipped with an on-campus television studio with a point-of-origin Vyvx connection, which provides broadcast-quality video to networks worldwide via fiber optic network. In addition, there is video access to satellite uplink, and audio access to an ISDN codec for broadcast-quality radio interviews.