November 19, 2018 | UHCL Staff
Over 1,050 University of Houston-Clear Lake students are expected to graduate this semester. Of those, approximately 892 plan to cross the stage at two commencement ceremonies on Sunday, Dec. 16 at NRG Arena, 1 NRG Park, Houston. A total of 667 will receive bachelor’s degrees, 377 will receive master’s degrees, and 12 will receive doctorate degrees. Additionally, 164 of 294 summer 2018 graduates plan to receive their diplomas at this commencement ceremony.
At noon, the College of Science and Engineering will confer degrees to 210 candidates and the College of Education will honor 194. UH-Clear Lake’s Associate Professor of Biology and Biotechnology Larry H. Rhode will deliver the commencement address.
At 5 p.m., 277 candidates in the College of Human Sciences and Humanities will receive degrees, as will 375 candidates in the College of Business. The commencement speaker is UHCL’s Professor of Healthcare Administration Ashish Chandra.
Rohde currently teachers undergraduate and graduate courses in general biology, molecular genetics, developmental biology, tissue culture and stem cell biotechnology. He has played a leading role in developing UHCL’s STEM curriculum, and has spearheaded and chaired a master of science in biotechnology program, which emphasizes laboratory training for graduate students. His goal is to ensure students get an early start on learning labs skills with state-of-the-art equipment so they can leave UHCL with valuable experience that will help them quickly find careers in the field of biotechnology. For his work in the classroom, Rohde was selected as UHCL’s 2006-07 nominee for the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation Award.
At UHCL, Chandra teaches healthcare planning and marketing, foundations in healthcare administration leadership, and healthcare ethics to undergraduate and graduate students. He has served as the chair of the Healthcare Administration Department for four years, and is a prolific researcher in healthcare marketing, consumer behavior and healthcare ethics. He is among UHCL’s most internationally known professors, having served as the program chair for 12 major international conferences as well as on the planning committee for 20 conferences worldwide. Chandra received the 2017 Excellence in Teaching Award by the UHCL Chapter of the National Society of Leadership Success, and in 2015, he won the Outstanding Professor Award, given by the UHCL Alumni Association.
This fall’s candidates will join over 68,000 others who have graduated the university. UHCL began as an upper-level university in 1974, admitting juniors, seniors and graduate students. The university expanded to admit underclassmen in 2014.
NRG Arena is located beside NRG Stadium and the Astrodome. Guests do not need tickets to attend. There is a cash-only fee for parking.
Friday, Dec. 14, the UHCL Alumni Association will host Senior Send-Off, formerly known as Soaring Hawks Celebration, which is a reception for graduates, friends and families from 6-8 p.m. in Atrium II of the Bayou Building. The event is free but advance tickets are required.
