Commencement Sets Record

Years of diligence and hard work paid off for the undergraduate and graduate students who took part in the spring commencement ceremonies, which were, according to Institute President Wayne Clough, the largest in Tech history.

The ceremonies were split into one honoring doctorate degree recipients and a separate one conferring bachelor's and master's degrees.

The approximately 200 doctorate degrees were awarded in an evening ceremony on Thursday, May 3 at the Ferst Center for the Arts. The guest speaker for that ceremony was Ray Orbach, the Undersecretary for Science in the U.S. Department of Energy.

The ceremony for undergraduates and master's degree candidates was the morning of Saturday, May 5, in the Georgia Dome and included approximately 2,200 students.

After a processional by the Commencement Ensemble and a reflection by Reverend Anthony Motley of Lindsay Street Baptist Church, the Ensemble played the Star Spangled Banner, and Clough delivered his remarks.

He began by referring to the recent murders at Virginia Tech; as a former faculty member at that university he had spoken at a memorial ceremony a week prior. He asked for a moment of silence as a show of support for the campus, after which he proceeded with the commencement remarks.

He commented on the value of a Tech education in today's competitive global market, where students learn with a focus on technology no matter what the major, and praised those groups and individuals who have volunteered in places from New Orleans to Bolivia to Angola.

He then inspired the graduates-to-be with the enormous success that Tech graduates have been capable of achieving, from executives to Nobel Prize winners to nationally-known entertainers.

Of the latter group he referred to professional poker player Phil Gordon, who he said knows "when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em".Unfortunately, Clough accidentally mixed up his Gordons and said Jeff instead of Phil, leaving many listeners wondering why a NASCAR driver who never went to Tech was relevant to the occasion and what holding and folding have to do with driving a race car.

Misstatements aside, Clough emphasized that the day's graduates were entering the world on the same footing as all of those successful men and women who celebrated the same legendary Tech traditions and quirks.

After calling for rounds of applause from the graduating students' parents and spouses, for the faculty in attendance, and then for the students themselves, Clough introduced the guest speaker of the day, General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt. Clough described the long cooperation Tech and GE have had historically, with 20 Tech students doing co-op assignments at any given time with the company, 400 alumni currently employed and 125 who have retired.

When Immelt took the stage he started out on a serious note, reiterating the long relationship his company has had with Tech. However, he followed in a ligher vein, saying that many people don't understand the true power he wields as head of the corporation that is the parent company of NBC. "I am Donald Trump's boss, and you know the girls on Deal or No Deal They work for me too," Immelt said.

Light-heartedness aside, Immelt spoke of his esteem for the students graduating from what he called the best engineering school in the country. After Immelt concluded his remarks the students were finally able to hear their names, walk up to the stage, shake the president's hand, and finally be recognized as graduates.

The nearly 600 master's degree candidates were recognized first, followed by undergraduates from the College of Computing, Ivan Allen College, the College of Architecture, the College of Management, the College of Sciences and finally the College of Engineering.