Colorado State University Announces December Commencement Ceremonies on Dec. 17 and 18

Colorado State University will confer degrees on fall 2010 graduates at commencement ceremonies Dec. 17 and 18.

College ceremonies and ROTC commissionings will recognize 1,392 undergraduates and 395 graduate students, of which 65 are doctoral students. Eleven students will graduate summa cum laude, 34 will graduate magna cum laude and 69 will graduate cum laude.

Commencement ceremonies, with the exception of the ROTC commissionings, will be webcast live. The ceremonies can be found at commencement.colostate.edu.

Commencement speakers for this year’s ceremonies include the following.

– Tom Remington will speak at the Warner College of Natural Resources commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. Dec. 17 at the Lory Student Center Main Ballroom. He has spent his entire professional career affiliated with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, initially as a graduate student working on Division of Wildlife research projects on sage grouse and blue grouse. His work led to a master’s degree from Colorado State University in 1983 and a doctorate degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1989. He was hired as a permanent researcher in 1989 and spent 10 years studying various issues related to farmland wildlife in eastern Colorado. He became an avian research leader in 1999 and was named terrestrial section manager in 2004. In this position, he oversaw the Walk-In Access Program and programs related to chronic wasting disease surveillance, lynx restoration, ranching for wildlife and all aspects of big game management. In 2007, the Colorado Chapter of the Wildlife Society honored Remington as the Wildlife Administrator of the Year.

– Toni Schindler Zimmerman, professor in Human Development and Family Studies and University Distinguished Teaching Scholar, will speak at the College of Applied Human Sciences commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. Dec. 17 in Moby Arena. Zimmerman, who joined CSU’s faculty in 1991, established the Marriage and Family Therapy program as a national leader, and she also serves as director of the program. The program oversees the Center for Family and Couple Therapy, which provides high-quality therapy services to families, couples, individuals, adolescents and children from across northern Colorado. Therapy students in the program receive more than 500 hours of hands-on training through the center. Zimmerman is the recipient of the College of Applied Human Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award as well as the Alumni Association Best Teacher Award. She also has been recognized with the Margaret B. Hazaleus Award from the Women’s Caucus for her service to women and is the recipient of the Colorado Marriage and Family Therapist of the Year award by the Colorado Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

– Patrick McConathy, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System, will speak at the College of Business commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. Dec. 18 at Moby Arena. McConathy is a rancher from McCoy, Colo., who has spent most of his career in the oil and gas industry. He received a bachelor’s in political science from Louisiana State University in 1975 and began working as a petroleum landman for the Placid Oil Co. in Shreveport, La., before starting McConathy Production Co., which operated wells in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Wyoming. He later purchased additional wells in those states under the name Phoenix Oil and Gas. In 2000, Phoenix Oil and Gas, Yarmony Creek Oil and Gas, and partner Castle Peak Resources began acquiring and operating oil and gas properties in California. McConathy’s numerous community activities in McCoy and nearby Vail include serving as member and chairman of the Vail Mountain School Board of Trustees and in the Leadership Circle of then U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar. In Louisiana, McConathy served as chairman of United Way for northwest Louisiana and chairman of Congressman Buddy Roemer’s successful campaign for governor in 1987.

– Colorado State University Professor Temple Grandin will speak at the College of Agricultural Sciences commencement ceremony at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Lory Student Center Main Ballroom. Grandin’s achievements are remarkable. As a child, she was diagnosed with autism. During the course of her career, she has done extensive work on the design of animal handling facilities. Nearly half the cattle in the United States and Canada now are handled in equipment she has designed for meat plants. Other professional activities include developing animal welfare guidelines for the meat industry and consulting with McDonald’s, Wendy’s International, Burger King, and other companies on animal welfare. Grandin has published several hundred industry publications, book chapters, and technical papers on animal handling in addition to 45 refereed journal articles and seven books. She has received numerous awards including the Meritorious Achievement Award from the Livestock Conservation Institute, The Beef Top 40 industry leaders and the Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Humane groups have also recognized Dr. Grandin with several awards for her work. HBO recently premiered a movie about Temple Grandin’s early life and career with the livestock industry. The movie received seven Emmy awards.

– Mike Nelson, chief meteorologist at KMGH-TV’s 7News in Denver, will speak at the College of Natural Sciences commencement ceremony at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at Moby Arena. Prior to serving as chief meteorologist at KMGH, he was the chief meteorologist at KMOV-TV in St. Louis from 1985 to 1991 and then for KUSA-TV in Denver from 1991 to 2004. Nelson received his degree in meteorology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1976, he began work at Weather Central, a private weather consulting firm specializing in forecasts for ski areas, agribusiness, power utilities and the Wisconsin TV network as well as more than 40 other radio and television stations nationwide. While in Madison, Nelson partnered with fellow meteorologist, Terry Kelly, to devise a computer weather graphics system for television. This system, called LIVELINE, remains the most widely used television weather graphics system in the world; more than 500 television stations use this system. Nelson has won 14 Emmy awards for Outstanding Weather Anchor. In 2001, he was recognized by the Colorado Broadcasters Association as its Citizen of the Year for his volunteer work in Colorado schools. Nelson enjoys sharing his knowledge of the weather with young and old, and he visits nearly 100 schools, clubs and service organizations each year. He has also written a local bestseller, “The Colorado Weather Almanac.”

– Dick Wolfe, state engineer and director of the Colorado Division of Water Resources, will speak at the College of Engineering commencement ceremony at 4 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Lory Student Center Main Ballroom. Wolfe was appointed state engineer and director of the Colorado Division of Water Resources in 2007. As state engineer, Wolfe is responsible for the direction and management of the Colorado Division of Water Resources, which has a staff of about 290 employees and an annual budget of about $25 million. The division is responsible for distribution and administration of water in accordance with statutes and interstate compacts; the implementation of a statewide dam safety program; the permitting of the use of groundwater and construction of wells; the collection and dissemination of data on water use and streamflow; and conducting various studies concerning water resources and the availability of water supplies. Wolfe is an advisory board member of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University. He is a registered professional engineer in Colorado and authored several articles in various publications, including “Water Administration: State Engineer’s Office” in the Colorado Water Law Bench Book. He led the South Platte Task Force in examining water issues in the Northeast Colorado Basin and made recommendations on possible solutions to the challenges facing the state’s water users.

Following is a list of CSU commencement ceremony starting times and locations for each ceremony.

Dec. 17
– Air Force ROTC Commissioning, 8:30 a.m., Lory Student Center, Longs Peak Dining Room
– Army ROTC Commissioning, 10 a.m., Lory Student Center Theatre
– Graduate School, 3 p.m., Moby Arena
– Warner College of Natural Resources, 7 p.m., Lory Student Center, Main Ballroom
– College of Applied Human Sciences, 7 p.m., Moby Arena

Dec. 18
– College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 9 a.m., Lory Student Center, Main Ballroom
– College of Business, 9 a.m., Moby Arena
– College of Agricultural Sciences, 12:30 p.m., Lory Student Center, Main Ballroom
– College of Natural Sciences, 12:30 p.m., Moby Arena
– College of Engineering, 4 p.m., Lory Student Center, Main Ballroom
– College of Liberal Arts, 4 p.m., Moby Arena
-30-