News Release

BOISE STATE NEWS RELEASE / April 25, 2008

Boise State University Commencement Ceremony to Honor Astronaut Barbara R. Morgan May 17

Boise State University will award an honorary doctorate to Idaho educator and astronaut Barbara R. Morgan during Spring Commencement at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 17, in Taco Bell Arena. Morgan also will be the featured speaker for the ceremony.

Morgan, who flew aboard the space shuttle Endeavor last August as part of an educator-astronaut mission, is the sixth person to receive an honorary doctorate from Boise State.

“Barbara Morgan is a courageous trailblazer and a true Idaho hero,” said Boise State President Bob Kustra. “We are inspired by her success, and all benefit from her commitment to our state and to our youth. Boise State University is honored to acknowledge her distinguished career with an honorary doctorate.”

Morgan participated in the Teacher in Space program as the backup to Christa McAuliffe for the ill-fated mission of Space Shuttle Challenger. She later trained as a mission specialist for NASA. From 1975-78, Morgan taught remedial reading and math and second grade at McCall-Donnelly Elementary School. After a year in Ecuador, she taught second, third, and fourth grades at McCall-Donnelly from 1979-98.

Morgan gave a free public lecture at Boise State in December as part of a welcome home event organized by the Discovery Center of Idaho.

Past Boise State honorary doctorate recipients include Micron President and CEO Steve Appleton (2007), CH2M Hill President Ralph R. Peterson (2006), Chinese humanitarian Deng Pufang (2005), former Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus (2004) and Hollywood director Michael Hoffman (2004).

Boise State’s traditional Spring Commencement ceremony will include the processional and recessional of candidates as well as individual recognition of each person. About 1,000 Boise State students are expected to participate in the ceremony. There are 1,795 students eligible for graduation this spring — 409 of them with honors.

The student speaker for Commencement is Christopher Ohge of Boise. Ohge is a double major in philosophy and English, with an emphasis on literature, and was recently named a Boise State Top 10 Scholar. He was also a recipient of Boise State’s President’s Writing Award.

Arena doors will open at 8:30 a.m., and the ceremony is expected to end at about noon. Wide screens will be set up so family members can see graduates up close when their names are called and they receive their handshake and diploma cover from the dean or associate dean of their college.

Boise State also will broadcast the ceremony live on the Web at www.boisestate.edu/provost/commencement/broadcast.shtml for individuals who cannot attend.

Boise State’s Alumni Association will hold a graduation celebration breakfast for 2008 graduates from 8-9:30 a.m. just outside entrance 3 of Taco Bell Arena. The celebration will feature free breakfast, music and a last-chance prep station.

A reception for graduates and families also will be held immediately following the ceremony on the Intramural Field adjacent to Taco Bell Arena and the Appleton Tennis Center. Each college will have a designated area where graduates can meet family and friends after the ceremony.

Free parking will be available in all reserved and metered parking lots for Commencement. Because of a limited number of handicapped parking spaces, family and friends who cannot walk a distance can be dropped off at the front of the arena. Entrances 1and 2 of the arena have elevators and special accommodations for guests or participants with disabilities are available.

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Contact: Sherry Squires, University Communications, (208) 426-1563, ssquires@boisestate.edu
 
Boise State University’s new Finish in Four program guarantees that eligible students who follow a planned course of study can complete their degree in four years. If not, Boise State will pay for the additional required courses. More information about Boise State’s graduation guarantee can be found at www.boisestate.edu/finish4.
 

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Last reviewed on Friday, April 25, 2008