Lincoln University holds its 2011 Graduation in Lincoln township this Friday (6 May). It is the first time the University has held the occasion in its nearby namesake settlement.
While Graduations were held on the Lincoln University campus until 1994, when they moved to Christchurch Town Hall, they have never been held in the township before. This year the city venue is unavailable because of earthquake damage.
The Graduation, to be spread over morning and afternoon ceremonies, will be the first public function held in the new Lincoln Event Centre, which was dedicated last Saturday (30 April).
Each ceremony will be preceded by a procession from the University through Lincoln township to the Event Centre, which is off North Belt at the northern end of William Street.
There will be just over 200 students at each ceremony receiving degrees, diplomas and certificates, and additionally 138 awards will be made in absentia.
In the morning ceremony, which starts at 10.15am, an Honorary Doctor of Commerce degree will be conferred on Fonterra Chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden, an alumnus of the University, and in the afternoon ceremony, starting at 2.15pm, the University’s Bledisloe Medal will be awarded to Marlborough wine pioneer Neal Ibbotson and the Alumni International Medal will be presented to horticulturist and fruit exporter Martin Cartwright of Chile.
Commerce qualifications make up the largest single category of awards being made, around 45 percent, a proportion typical of recent years. Agriculture, agricultural science and farm management qualifications make up some 25 percent of the total, with other land-based areas such as horticulture, viticulture and wine science, landscape architecture and tourism combining to make up around 10 percent.
Twenty-three doctorates will be awarded and postgraduate qualifications in general make up nearly a quarter of the total awards being made, a proportion consistent with recent years.
The route of the academic procession is from the University, along Gerald Street, left into William Street, and straight ahead to the Event Centre. Both ceremonies will be presided over by the Chancellor Tom Lambie.