SLIDE SHOW: A Celebration of the UC Class of 2009

The University of Cincinnati celebrated its 190th Commencement during two ceremonies June 13 in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.

View the slide show of UC’s Commencement and Hooding ceremonies

View the archived Webcasts

UC Interim President Monica Rimai remarked that graduation weekend celebrated more than 4,500 degrees earned. She added that 90 percent of the graduates held jobs while pursuing their education.

Along their college journey to this UC milestone, Rimai commented on how the nation and the world had transformed during the graduates’ college experience, including the nation’s complete switchover to digital television over graduation weekend.

Rimai said the Class of 2009 also celebrated the championships of two UC alums – Mary Wineberg and David Payne – at the Beijing Olympics. As the nation elected its first African-American president, she said that Barack Obama twice visited the campus during his campaign. “And as students, you got the chance not only to witness firsthand this historic event but also to participate as voters, many of you for the first time.”

“As you graduate, our nation’s financial crisis and the job market present challenges you perhaps did not anticipate when you first arrived on campus,” said Rimai. “Our world, in fact, faces many issues in need of good solutions: international violence, increasing desperation among those condemned to poverty and dwindling natural resources.

“But the worst of times can sometimes bring out the best in us,” she said. “We need you, all of you, to fulfill your potential for greatness.”

UC Presidential Leadership Medal recipient and UC 2008-2009 Student Body President Ryan Rosensweig of Clifton delivered the university oration for the morning ceremony, also remarking on the great transformation of the university under the leadership of former UC President Nancy L. Zimpher. The University Honors student told the graduates that their experience at UC will serve as an inspirational moment in their lives.

“Our charge is not to know what the answers are today, but to know what they are going to be,” said Rosensweig. “Class of 2009, look around, you’ll realize we have everything we need to change the world. If we collaborate, we can accomplish our goals. I have no fear we will be successful, because it is ingrained in us. You cannot spell collaborate without B-E-A-R-C-A-T!”

Johnathan F. Moor of Canton, Ohio, a University Honors student and graduate from the College of Engineering, delivered the university oration for the afternoon ceremony. Moor emphasized student action in UC’s commitment to community, at home and around the world. “During our time at the University of Cincinnati, Engineers Without Borders was founded, which has brought clean drinking water to more than 500 people in Kenya. Relay For Life (the spring fundraiser organized by UC students) has raised over $500,000 for cancer research.” Moor added that UC students had taken more than a dozen trips to regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and the UC student group, Serve Beyond Cincinnati – formed during the college experience of the Class of 2009 – had gone on more than two dozen service-related trips around the world.

“This is your opportunity to find your passion and to define your life, whether in a community center, scouting organization or your church,” said Moor. “I challenge you not to lose that opportunity.”

UC alumnus Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, delivered the 2009 Commencement address.

Polman was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Commercial Science during the morning Commencement ceremony. The internationally known business executive told the graduates that he was grateful for the “incredible opportunity” that he had been offered to study at UC. “I did not have the financial means, but fortunately, others believed in me and made a scholarship possible. I might not be where I am today without their support,” he said.

Polman shared with the graduates his memories of another era that challenged the nation – a time of a deepening international recession, a time when the U.S. was struggling with “a crisis of confidence at home and a lack of respect abroad,” an energy crisis and conflict in the Middle East. He told the graduates that the nation was facing these challenges under the Carter administration in 1979, the year that Polman earned an MBA in finance/international marketing from the UC College of Business.

He reminded the graduates that while the nation is struggling under many challenges today, the challenges are not new. “At no other time in history has the need for leadership, driven by a strong foundation of ethics, been greater,” he said. “At the same time, never before has the opportunity to develop a better world been greater. A favorite word of mine is the Chinese word for ‘crisis,’ which can be interpreted as ‘opportunity,’” he said.

Paul Polman laid out a three “P” guideline of reflection for the graduates – be purpose driven and values led, pursue their passion, and be positive. “Be a ‘glass half-full’ person,” he said. “And if the glass appears half empty, redesign the glass.”

Senior Class President and College of Business graduate Ashlee Carlisle congratulated the Class of 2009 on a successful fundraising effort for the senior class gift to the university – a historic marker that was dedicated on June 12. The marker is located opposite McMicken Hall’s Mick and Mack lion statues on the west side of Campus Way.

UC’s Doctoral Hooding and Master’s Recognition Ceremony was held June 12 at Fifth Third Arena. The slide show features highlights from all three ceremonies.

Proudly Cincinnati: 21st Century Learning