2011 Graduation Celebration commemorates a decade of growth with keynote speaker, Governor Martin O’Malley.
More than 800 students, family members, and faculty gathered at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) on May 5th to celebrate the tenth class of graduates from programs at USG during the 2011 Graduation Celebration, with special keynote speaker, Governor Martin O’Malley. The celebration honored candidates for graduation from USG’s partner universities for Fall 2010 and Spring 2011.
USG’s Executive Director, Stewart Edelstein, opened the program, congratulating the students and celebrating USG for its progress over the past 10 years. He reminded the audience that the first class of graduates at USG in 2002 consisted of 37 students, compared to 518 in 2011. He praised the entire USG community for reaching the milestone of more 3500 students that have received bachelor’s degrees from programs at USG.
USG is "Wave of the Future"
Governor Martin O’Malley addressed the crowd to roaring applause, congratulating the extraordinary efforts of the graduates and describing USG as a model for the future of higher education. He explained that the United States must strive to make post-secondary education more accessible to those that need to “learn and earn” – to maintain steady employment while completing a college degree, as many students at USG do.
“USG is the wave of the future when it comes to meeting the goals that the President has challenged us to meet, goals we have also set as a state to make sure that more of our citizens and not less, as a percentage of our population, have college degrees.” said O’Malley.
Governor O’Malley touted Maryland’s top-ranked public education system and cited a statistic recently released by U.S. Chamber of Commerce, ranking the state of Maryland number 2 in innovation across the country. He challenged the graduates to “close the gap” between innovation and commercialization and entrepreneurship, reminding them that they are the key to the future of economic development.
Special Recognition in 2011
Student speaker, Muhammad Ahmad, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, shared his student experience. He offered special thanks to his family and expressed gratitude for the Kendall Endowed Scholarship he received and for the help of dedicated faculty and staff at USG.
The celebration also recognized graduates in the first University of Maryland School of Pharmacy Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) class at USG, as well as the first University of Maryland, College Park Public Health Science class at USG.
“We were honored to have Governor O’Malley address the tenth graduating class of students at USG,” said Stewart Edelstein, PhD, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University System of Maryland and Executive Director at USG. “As USG enters into its second decade, we look forward to increasing the educational opportunities for students and continuing to be a driver for strengthening our region’s economic development and workforce.”
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See more: view a photo gallery of the event on Governor Martin O'Malley's website! Also, view the 2011 Graduation Celebration event program, including speaker biographies and a list of graduates by University and program. |
Check out USG's photo album from the 2011 USG Graduation Celebration!: