Class Awards

Community Service Award

Established in 1993, the Trustees' Community Service Award honors a graduating student who has endeavored to enrich the University and Charlottesville communities through service during their tenure as a student. Nominees should exemplify the true ideal of service: a commitment to humanitarian goals with no expectation of material reward. Whether through initiating or planning a service project(s), or giving selflessly of his or her time and energy to a specific cause, this person has inspired others to participate in community service.

Cultural Fluency Award

Established in 1996, the Trustees' Cultural Fluency Award recognizes a graduating student who has demonstrated an understanding of and appreciation for cultural and intellectual diversity during their time at the University. Individuals nominated for this award should have gone beyond the realm of academics and their immediate community of peers to form alliances, both personal and intellectual, with members of different cultures within the University and Charlottesville communities. Nominees should demonstrate cultural fluency through the initiation of activities promoting the interconnectedness of culture and intellectual community, and a respect for a diversity of people and their ideas.

The Road Less Traveled Award

The Class of 2008 announces the Road Less Traveled Award designed to recognize a graduating student who has taken an alternative path to personal accomplishment. We seek to honor a person who has made an important and lasting contribution to the University community personally, through an extra curricular activity, or in the classroom. The recipient will be a student whose choice of activities brings out his or her defining characteristics and whose work has become an example for others. The recipient should embody the qualities of enthusiasm, leadership, dedication, and expansive thinking; a deserving student could also be a non-traditional student or a student who has overcome hardship in his or her personal life. Please think broadly about how a nominee may have demonstrated these qualities, as a variety of circumstances and accomplishments could lie along the road less traveled.

A Brief Preview of Class Events during Finals Weekend, May 16-18, 2008

Graduation Banquet: Friday, May 16, 7-10pm, Alumni Hall

The banquet is a celebration to kick off the weekend for graduates and families. This year's seated dinner will be catered by 20 South. Due to limited seating, reservations will be required, and there is a fee to attend.

Valedictory Exercises: Saturday, May 17, 11am, The Lawn

Valediction is the student-led graduation ceremony. A welcome address will be delivered by a member of the class, Cory Line, class awards and the class gift will be presented, and a special address will be delivered by a guest speaker, Sheila Johnson.  Sheila is a successful businesswoman and global ambassador for CARE, a leading humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting global poverty.  She is co-founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and is currently the CEO of Salamander Hospitality, LLC.  She is the first woman to have a stake in three professional sports teams, including the Washington Mystics (WNBA), the Washington Wizards (NBA) and the Washington Capitals (NHL).  Tickets to this event are not required.

Class Party: Saturday, May 17, 8:00pm - Midnight, Alumni Hall

The Class of 2008 Graduation Party is a special celebration for the members of the graduating class and their guests.  On the outdoor patio, guests can watch the class video while enjoying beverages and light refreshments.  Inside the ballroom, light refreshments and beverages will be available along with a live band, The Sometimes Favorites, and dancing.  Two forms of identification will be required for the purchase of alcohol.  Each graduating student will be given three tickets free of cost for the party.

Final Exercises: Sunday, May 18, 10am , The Lawn

This is it, the graduation ceremony for all undergraduate and graduate students. It starts with the academic procession down the Lawn of all graduates that takes about an hour, followed by an hour long ceremony. The procession down the Lawn will start at 10:00am, but students should assemble in their school's specific location near the Lawn no later than 9:30am.  The speaker for Final Exercises is Hunter R. Rawlings III, the former president of two major universities and a respected national leader in higher education.  A scholar of classical Greek, he remains a professor of classics and history and president emeritus of Cornell University.  A graduate of Haverford College and Princeton University, Dr. Rawlings is recognized globally as a visionary, gifted teacher, and leader.  He has served as chair of the American Association of Universities, Council of Ivy League Presidents, and Council of Ten (Presidents and Chancellors of the Big Ten Converence).

TICKETS: Each graduating student will receive three guest-seating tickets for Final Exercises.  These will be distributed at the University Bookstore on May 15-17, 2008, from 9am to 5pm and prior to the ceremony on May 18.  Tickets must be picked up in-person by the graduating student with a valid picture ID.  Guests without tickets are welcome, but seating is not guaranteed.  Standing room is available on the upper terraces of the Lawn.

Individual School's diploma ceremonies will be held after the main ceremony on the Lawn.  This information will be available on the Finals Weekend Website: www.virginia.edu/finals.