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Media representatives are invited to attend the December commencement ceremony at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sunday (Dec. 14)
2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dean E. Smith Center
Bowles Drive
Chapel Hill

   Valerie Ashby
 
 Valerie Ashby, Ph.D.

Media representatives are invited to attend the December commencement ceremony at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sunday (Dec. 14)
2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dean E. Smith Center
Bowles Drive
Chapel Hill

Once named one of the top 12 young female chemists nationwide, Valerie Ashby, Ph.D., will speak at this year’s ceremony, continuing a tradition of having respected members of the faculty deliver the December commencement address.

Chancellor Holden Thorp will preside at the ceremony for students who graduated in August as well as those graduating Sunday.

Graduates in Carolina blue (bachelor’s degree recipients) and black (master’s, doctoral, professional) caps and gowns will enter to “Procession of the Nobles” by Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov, played by the 50-member UNC Ceremonial Band.

Ashby, a Carolina alumna and Gordon and Bowman Gray Distinguished Term Professor, received the top-12 distinction from the American Chemical Society in 2002. She has received UNC’s Sitterson Award for freshman teaching, several 3M Young Faculty Awards, a DuPont Young Faculty Award and a National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award.

A native of Johnston County and graduate of Clayton High School, Ashby earned a bachelor’s degree in 1988 and a doctoral degree in chemistry in 1994 from UNC. She teaches organic chemistry and introductory chemistry. Her research on biomaterials has led to 10 patents.

Graduates: To date, 2,304 students have applied to graduate in December. Administrators anticipate awarding 1,147 bachelor’s, 765 master’s, 252 doctoral and 140 professional degrees. The latter are from the schools of dentistry, law, medicine, nursing and pharmacy.

Media kits/seating: News Services expects to have advance copies of Ashby’s speech to share with reporters before the ceremony. Media kits with copies will be available from L.J. Toler of News Services at the bottom of sections 123 and 124. No media seating will be reserved; reporters may sit in the guest section.

Broadcasters: Audio feeds will be available.

Parking: Parking for guests and media will be available in the Williamson lot across from the front of the Smith Center and the Manning lot down the hill toward Manning Drive.

Ashby’s Web site: http://www.chem.unc.edu/people/faculty/ashby/

News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589; cell (919) 219-6374

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