SPRING SPEAKER

UNC system president to deliver ECU commencement address

The president of the University of North Carolina system, Thomas W. Ross, will deliver the Spring 2015 Commencement address at East Carolina University on Friday, May 8.

Tom Ross

The commencement ceremony will begin with a processional at 9 a.m. in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Almost 5,000 students are expected to receive degrees this spring, including approximately 3,480 bachelor degree candidates and 1,360 graduate degree candidates, of which 80 will receive medical degrees from the Brody School of Medicine.

The commencement will also include the 50 graduating members of the inaugural class of ECU’s School of Dental Medicine. For these graduates, dental education has consisted of two novel approaches: an innovative curriculum that uses technology and online collaboration tools combined with a network of dental service learning centers spread across the state where they honed their skills as fourth-year students.

Ross, who will step down from the position in January, has been president of the 17-campus system since January 2011. A native of Greensboro, Ross is a graduate of Davidson College and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law.