Nearly 5,100 Students to Graduate -- Mason Gazette

May 2002

Nearly 5,100 Students to Graduate

The walk to George Mason University's 35th annual commencement Saturday, May 18, at 10 a.m. in the Patriot Center will be a little more special this year. The Johnson Center North Plaza, where graduates will assemble, will be the scene of a photography booth where individual graduates in their caps and gowns can have their day framed forever, and a hat-decorating table. Music and a green and gold flower for each graduate will add to the special occasion.

"We are trying to make it a little more festive this year, instead of having graduates just stand on the blacktop in the parking lot," says Barbara Lubar, director of Events Management. "This will be their last walk through campus as students. We'll have a banner for them to walk under as they start the next phase of their lives."

Instead of assembling at the Patriot Center, graduates will form a procession at the plaza, and march past the George Mason statue, down the steps to Mason Drive and around part of Patriot Circle, up Mattaponi River Lane to the lower parking lot and enter the hall through the elephant doors to take their seats.

The procession, as always, will be led by the new head of the Faculty Senate, who will be elected on May 1. In case of rain, the graduates will simply take their seats in the hall, and only the faculty and platform party will process in.

Of the 5,083 students in the graduating class of 2002, 3,164 are receiving undergraduate degrees and 1,712 will be awarded master's or doctoral degrees. The School of Law will graduate 207 students. R. Bruce Borthwick is this year's oldest graduate at 71, and Julia Carter is the youngest at 18. The discipline with the largest number of graduates this year is decision sciences and management information systems, with 396. Psychology (266), communication (256), integrative studies (176), and nursing (176) round out the five fields of study with the most graduates.

Charles G. Koch, chairman and chief executive officer of Koch Industries Inc. will receive the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

Koch, chairman and chief executive officer of Koch Industries Inc., a Wichita, Kansas- based company that owns a diverse group of companies engaged in worldwide trading, investment, and operations, will receive the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. Koch also serves as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Humane Studies and is a member of the board of directors of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Koch believes principled entrepreneurship is fundamental to the interests of a community and he contributes to this idea by devoting his time, talent, and financial resources to human service and educational organizations. In 1981, the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation was established to support academic and public policy research through grants centered on development of market-based solutions to social problems.

Koch has received a number of business and community honors, including the Entrepreneurial Leadership Award from the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and the 1999 Directors' Award for Global Vision in Energy from the New York Mercantile Exchange. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Babson College and an Honorary Doctor of Commerce from Washburn University. He received a Free Enterprise Award from the Council for National Policy and the Adam Smith Award from the American Legislation Exchange Council. A graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Koch received a B.A. in general engineering and master's degrees in mechanical engineering and chemical engineering.