UIW celebrates the Fall Class of 2017
UIW celebrates the Fall Class of 2017
1300 students complete 45,597 hours of community service
San Antonio – University of the Incarnate Word President Dr. Thomas M. Evans will confer degrees to nearly 1,300 professional, doctoral, graduate and undergraduate students at the Fall Commencement Ceremony scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 16 in the Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum. This graduating class completed a total of 45,597 hours of service in the community providing an economic impact totaling $1,100,711.
Moody Professor Dr. Laura Muñoz of the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions will deliver the commencement address. Muñoz is the founding director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, which provides an option for nurses interested in attaining a terminal degree, and is a former recipient of the UIW Presidential Teaching Award for her dedication as an educator. Muñoz has collaborated with faculty across UIW in a number of research projects that have resulted in numerous publications and presentations. She has been active in an array of professional and community organizations including the Texas Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau Delta Alpha At-Large Chapter, the March of Dimes and the United Way. It is through these organizations that she has promoted nursing as a prominent and essential profession.
The professorship, established in 1971 by the Moody Foundation, reflects the recipient’s level of scholarship, teaching excellence and community service. The Moody Professor is the faculty member chosen to lead the faculty and carry the University Mace. The Commencement address to the December graduates is traditionally delivered by the Moody Professor whose address is often considered the students’ “last class.”
Dr. Christopher Alvarado, a proud alumnus of the UIW Feik School of Pharmacy, will be recognized as the 2017 Alumna of Distinction for Professional Development. An honors graduate, Alvarado earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2010 and was presented with the inaugural Dean’s Pinnacle Award for excellence in education and leadership. He has worked in the pharmacy business for more than 30 years and has made providing excellent patient care his primary focus. He has worked for the Carson family at Oakdell Pharmacy in San Antonio for more than 18 years. In 2012 and 2014, he received the Oakdell Pharmacy Award of Excellence for loyalty, leadership and excellence in management. Educating students about pharmacy and the importance of protecting the pharmacy profession is another of Alvarado’s missions. He has been a preceptor to many pharmacy students for over six years, and challenges them during their rotations to help prepare them for their board exams and future careers. For his efforts, Alvarado has been awarded with the 2013 Texas Pharmacy Association (TPA) Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year, 2015 TPA Pharmacist of the Year and the 2017 Bowl of Hygeia, which recognizes pharmacists who possess outstanding records of civic leadership in their communities and encourages pharmacists to take active roles in their communities.
A Baccalaureate Mass is scheduled for 5 p.m., Friday, Dec. 15 in the Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center on the UIW campus. The San Antonio Pipes and Drums will perform processional and recessional music for Baccalaureate and Commencement. Lena Gokelman director of Campus and Liturgical Music will lead the musical direction for the 2017 Commencement.
Admission to the commencement ceremony is by ticket only. Commencement will also be broadcast online. Live coverage of the events will begin 15 minutes prior to the event at http://uiwtv.org/commencement/.
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CONTACT: Margaret Garcia, associate director of communications and marketing, (210) 829-6001, mlgarci2@uiwtx.edu