MILWAUKEE_The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will award more than 1,500 degrees at its 133rd commencement on Sunday, Dec. 21, at 10 a.m. at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, 400 W. Kilbourn Ave.
The university will present 1,149 bachelor’s degrees, 293 master’s degrees, 34 doctoral degrees, 14 associate degrees and 75 certificates. The oldest bachelor’s degree recipient is 75, while the youngest is 19. The oldest associate degree recipient is 49; the youngest is 19.
This will be the first commencement at UWM for Chancellor Thomas Gibson. He will be available for interviews immediately following the ceremony at the right (east) side of the stage. Honorary degree recipient Lea Denny and several graduating students will also be available for interviews. Please email media-services-team@uwm.edu with interview requests.
SEATING
Graduates do not need tickets to attend, but all guests over the age of 2 are required to have a ticket. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Guests can enter the UWM Panther Arena at the south entrance, along West Kilbourn Avenue.
Several items are prohibited, including weapons, backpacks, large banners and other items. The full list is on the Wisconsin Center District website.
The ceremony will be livestreamed. That stream can be seen on UWM’s website, where it will remain available for viewing afterward.
COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER: Gale Klappa
Gale Klappa, a 1972 graduate cum laude of UWM, is chairman of the board of WEC Energy Group, one of the nation’s premier energy companies, serving nearly 4.7 million electric and natural gas customers in the upper Midwest.
Klappa has more than 45 years of experience working in the public utility industry, and more than 30 years at the senior executive level. Klappa is a member of the board of directors of Associated Banc-Corp. He is co-chair of the Milwaukee 7 regional economic development initiative and serves on the UWM College of Business Advisory Council. In addition, Klappa has owned a minority interest in the Milwaukee Bucks NBA franchise.
He has won numerous awards, including lifetime achievement awards from UWM and the National Association of Minority Contractors-Wisconsin, and induction into the Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame.
HONORARY DEGREE: Lea Denny
Lea Denny is the founder and CEO of HIR Wellness Institute, an award-winning, survivor-led nonprofit redefining what accessibility, culturally grounded and relationally centered mental health care looks like for Indigenous and underserved communities. Denny, a survivor of childhood trauma and violence, transformed her experiences into a catalyst for systemic change. Through that, she created one of the most innovative and community-rooted mental health models in the country.
A proud alumna of UWM, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology, Denny declined multiple doctoral and professional opportunities to launch HIR Wellness Institute In 2017. In just eight years, Denny has grown HIR Wellness Institute from serving a handful of survivors to reaching over 6,000 individuals annually.
The organization provides mobile mental health clinics, individual and group counseling, advocacy, outreach in service deserts and community-based healing programs in areas long abandoned by traditional mental health systems. HIR has secured more than $8 million in funding, developed a shared leadership model, built an integrated and interdisciplinary team of culturally grounded providers and emerged as a national model for trauma-informed care, crisis response and community-activated healing.
MEDIA ACCESS
Members of the media wishing to cover the commencement ceremony should enter through the Panther Arena’s main doors and ask for assistance from an usher. Media may shoot video or photos from the back or sides of the arena but should stay out of the middle aisles to avoid interfering with students. Media are asked to RSVP via email to media-services-team@uwm.edu.
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
The numbers of degrees awarded by UWM schools and colleges are below. The numbers include bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, associate and flex degrees.
- College of Letters & Science: 376
- Lubar College of Business: 273
- College of Engineering & Applied Science: 162
- School of Nursing: 126
- School of Information Studies: 115
- Peck School of the Arts: 95
- School of Education: 86
- Helen Bader School of Social Welfare: 78
- School of Biomedical Sciences & Health Care Administration: 75
- Zilber College of Public Health: 39
- School of Rehabilitation Sciences & Technology: 39
- School of Architecture & Urban Planning: 20
- College of General Studies: 14
- School of Freshwater Sciences: 10
