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Contact Information

Office of the Registrar
PO Box 1510
Pembroke, NC 28372

Phone: 910.521.6298
Fax: 910.521.6328
Email: registrar@uncp.edu

Location: Lumbee Hall, Room 133

School of Graduate Studies
PO Box 1510
Pembroke, NC 28372

Phone: 910.521.6271 or 1.866.521.GRAD (4723)
Fax: 910.521.6751
Relay: 1.866.521.GRAD (4723)
Email: grad@uncp.edu

Location: Lindsay Hall, Room 124
Campus Map

 


Congratulations Class of 2012!

The University of North Carolina at Pembroke will hold separate Commencement ceremonies for students receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees. Approximately 492 undergraduate and 108 graduate students are expected to graduate.

Please refer to the links along the left side of the page for more information.

For general information about Commencement, please call 910.521.6275.

For information about tickets, please contact the Office of the Registrar at registrar@uncp.edu.

Relay: 910.521.6275 or 910.521.6298 (Registrar)

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Undergraduate | Graduate


UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT CEREMONY

The 2012 Winter Commencement will be held Saturday, December 8, 2012, at 10 a.m. in the main gym of the English E. Jones Health and Physical Education Center.

Approximately 492 undergraduate students are expected to graduate. Keynote speaker is Dr. David Nikkel, chair of UNCP's Philosophy and Religion Department and recipient of the 2012 UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence.

Entrances to the main gym are located on the west and east sides of the Jones Center.

Parking is available on the west side of the Jones Center (via University Road), east of the James. B. Chavis University Center and east of the Dial Humanities Building (both accessible via Prospect/Odum Road). Handicapped parking is available on the west side of the Jones Center. A shuttle service will be available for those not parking in the handicapped parking area.

Please arrive early. Entrances to the main gym open at 8:30 a.m.

Overflow is in the lounge of the James B. Chavis University Center. Live video and audio will be available.

The UNCP Bookstore will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bookstore merchandise will also be available in the west lobby of the Jones Center in the Shaw-Howington Concessions stand from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

GRAD IMAGES will take a photo of each graduate during the ceremony. Information will be mailed after Commencement.

For more information about the undergraduate Commencement, contact the Office of the Registrar at 910.521.6298 or registrar@uncp.edu.


Schedule of Events

Undergraduates students are to meet in the auxiliary gym of the Jones Center by 8:30 a.m.

Faculty are to robe and line-up in the lobby of Lumbee Hall by 9 a.m.

Administrators are to line-up in the hallway of the Jones Center outside room 1167 by 9 a.m.

The executive staff and Deans are to line-up in Jones Center room 1167 by 9 a.m.

The platform party and Board of Trustees are to line-up in Jones Center room 1167 by 9 a.m.

  8:30 a.m. Entrance to main gym opens for family and guests
  9:55 a.m. Entrance closes; Prelude by University Band
10:00 a.m. Processional of graduates, faculty, and platform party
   
  Commencement Speaker: Dr. David Nikkel, a member of the faculty in UNCP's Philosophy and Religion Department and recipient of the 2012 UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence.
   
  A reception will immediately follow the ceremony in the University Center Annex, adjacent to the Givens Performing Arts Center.


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GRADUATE STUDENT CEREMONY

The graduate student ceremony will be held Friday, December 7 at 7 p.m. in the Givens Performing Arts Center.

Approximately 108 students are expected to graduate. Keynote speaker is Dr. David Nikkel, chair of UNCP's Philosophy and Religion Department and recipient of the 2012 UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence.

Parking is available on the north and south sides of the Givens Performing Arts Center and the east of the James B. Chavis University Center, accessible via Odum Street/Prospect Road. Handicapped accessible parking is available in the lot directly east of the Chavis University Center and University Center Annex and the small lot north of Givens Performing Arts Center.

Please arrive early. Entrance to the auditorium open at 6:00 p.m. All guests should be seated no later than 6:45 p.m.

The UNCP Bookstore will be selling roses, balloons and greeting cards in the lobby of the GPAC, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

GRAD IMAGES will take a photo of each graduate during the ceremony. Information will be mailed after Commencement.

For more information about the graduate Commencement, contact the School of Graduate Studies at 910.521.6271 or grad@uncp.edu.


Schedule of Events

Graduate students are to meet in the Auxiliary Gym of the Jones Center by 5:45 p.m.

Faculty are to robe and line-up in the first floor of Lumbee Hall while administrators are to robe and line-up in the first floor hallway of the University Center Annex, both by 6 p.m.

Trustees, executive staff, and the platform party, including deans, are to line-up in rooms 203 and 217 of the University Center Annex by 6 p.m.

6:00 p.m. Entrance opens for family and guests
6:55 p.m. Entrance closes; Prelude by University Band
7:00 p.m. Procession of graduates, faculty, and platform party
   
  Commencement Speaker: Dr. David Nikkel, a member of the faculty in UNCP's Philosophy and Religion Department and recipient of the 2012 UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence.
   
  A reception will immediately follow the ceremony in the University Center Annex, adjacent to the Givens Performing Arts Center.

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. David Nikkel

David NikkelDr. David H. Nikkel is a teacher and scholar of religious studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is the recipient of the 2012 UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence.

In his 10 years at UNC Pembroke, he has established himself as a caring professor who makes the most complex subjects accessible to his students.
Dr. Nikkel's passion for his work is also evident in his scholarship and ministry.

The chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion, Dr. Nikkel recently published his third book, "The Varieties of Mystical Experience: William James and Paul Tillich." He also serves as pastor of a small church in Fayetteville, N.C.

Dr. Nikkel believes success in the classroom stems from "enthusiasm about
teaching and enthusiasm about the subject that sets an atmosphere that is conducive to learning." He said, "I also attempt to convey a personal sense of caring for my students, which not only directly facilitates the learning process, but can create windows that allow me to help students succeed in other aspects of their lives."

As a scholar, Dr. Nikkel defines himself as a generalist. He has taught 13 different courses and developed five new upper-level courses, including Religion and Science, which he co-taught with Dr. Bruce Ezell of the Biology Department.

About the collaboration, Dr. Ezell said: "David is a flexible and innovative academic, who welcomed the opportunity to jointly teach this cross-listed course. It was during the teaching of Religion and Science that I came to know and appreciate Professor Nikkel's commitment to academic excellence. He is truly a professor's professor."

Dr. Nikkel's students find him interested in their success as this student noted: "He is ready to offer each of his students the assistance she or he may need to complete his class successfully. In advanced classes, he also explains difficult and complex ideas clearly so that we gain greater understanding of them."

Dr. Nikkel's success is the result of his comfort with the most complex theological issues and his engagement in the real world, or as he said, remaining "close to the ground."

"In their own way, ministers also make religion relevant in the modern world," Dr. Nikkel said. "In my classes, I've had students of all religions and non-religious and anti-religious stripes, and they feel comfortable sharing their personal beliefs. I challenge them to think about religion in new ways."

Dr. Nikkel received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in mathematics, a Master of Divinity degree from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio and a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University.

He went to seminary with the plan to work in the ministry and fell in love with theology. Today, Dr. Nikkel practices
professionally in both arenas.

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BROADCAST

The undergraduate ceremony will be broadcast live by WNCP-TV Channel 6 on Robeson County Time Warner Cable, beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 8, 2012.

The graduate ceremony is being recorded by WNCP-TV Channel 6 for Robeson County Time Warner Cable.

Commencement will be aired on Tuesday, December 11 at 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. and on Saturday, December 15 at 11 a.m.

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WEBCAST

The undergraduate ceremony will be webcast live beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 8, 2012.

The graduate ceremony is being recorded and will be available to view online after the conclusion of Commencement.

Archived webcasts of Commencement will be available after Commencement.

Please be patient while the video loads.

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Updated: Thursday, December 13, 2012

 
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PO Box 1510 Pembroke, NC 28372-1510 • 910.521.6000