The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has announced that its 2023 December commencement ceremony will be held Saturday, Dec. 16, in the Kachel Fieldhouse within the Williams Center, beginning at 10 a.m.

The Williams Center is located on the UW-Whitewater campus, at 907 Schwager Dr., Whitewater. 

According to information released by the university, approximately 620 students will cross the stage to receive their degrees. The ceremony, which is anticipated to be about two hours long, will be presided over by Chancellor Corey A. King. 

Additionally, the release noted, this year’s commencement speaker will be Barbara Kreisman.

The release states that Kreisman earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism, with a minor in English, in 1972.

Since then, she has served in professional roles at Dell Computer, where she worked for 12 years in strategic human resources, organizational development and staffing, and in faculty and leadership roles at the University of Denver, where she spent more than 17 years as associate dean of the Executive MBA Program for the Daniels College of Business.

According to the release, “Kriesman calls herself a retirement journeys Sherpa — someone who helps individuals transition to retirement at a time they may fear losing their identity, network of colleagues, importance, power and influence.”

The commencement’s student speaker will be Patrice Achu, who, the release read, has earned his Doctorate of Business Administration.

As stated in the release, Achu, a native of Cameroon, will be receiving his third degree from UW-Whitewater, completing an educational path that includes a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting, earned in 2010, and a master’s degree in project management, earned in 2020.

“He joins May 2023 graduate Eric Barber as one of two Warhawks in the school’s history to earn a DBA and two other degrees from UW-Whitewater. He is currently North American comptroller for Kerry Group, a public food company headquartered in Ireland,” the release continued.

The ceremony will recognize 45 undergraduates from the school’s College of Arts and Communication, 145 from the College of Business and Economics, 136 from the College of Education and Professional Studies, four from the College of Integrated Studies, 144 from the College of Letters and Sciences, and six degrees that are not college-specific, for a total of 480 undergraduate degrees. The School of Graduate Studies will award 140 degrees, including 130 master’s degrees and 10 doctorates, the release noted.

The graduating class also includes three international students, 64 military veterans and 141 nontraditional students, defined as undergraduate students who are 25 years of age or older. In addition, 74 self-identified students with disabilities will receive degrees, the release continued.

The commencement will be broadcast live online by UWWTV, the university television station. Access to the livestream will be posted at uww.edu/commencement, according to the release.