Clara M. Lovett, president emerita of Northern Arizona University, will speak at both commencement ceremonies on Dec. 14 and will receive an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree.

1,900 students to take part
in Dec. 14 commencement

Watch it live.
Ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

More than 1,900 Northern Arizona University seniors and graduate students will be conferred with their bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at two ceremonies beginning at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Dec. 14 in the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.

Clara M. Lovett, president emerita of Northern Arizona University, will speak at both ceremonies and will receive an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree.

The ceremony for graduates from the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, The W.A. Franke College of Business and the School of Forestry will begin at 10 a.m. The later ceremony for graduates of the College of Education and the College of Health and Human Services will begin at 3 p.m.

NAU will be presenting 942 bachelor's degrees, 972 master's degrees and 12 doctoral degrees to fall graduates.

A live webcast of both ceremonies as well as parking and traffic information is online.

From 1993 to 2000, Lovett served as president of NAU. During her tenure, the university became the leader in Arizona partnerships with community colleges and in distance learning. Targeted program initiatives, especially those affecting environmental sciences, attracted excellent senior faculty and produced a threefold increase in sponsored research.

Following her retirement from the NAU presidency, Lovett became president of the American Association for Higher Education. In that role, she advocated for expanded access to higher education, diversity in curriculum and staffing and effective use of technology in instruction and institutional operations.

Born in Trieste, Italy, Lovett received her undergraduate education at the University of Trieste and Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. She came to the United States in 1962, earning her master's and doctoral degrees in history at the University of Texas, Austin.

As a national opinion leader, Lovett frequently gives interviews, lectures and writes about issues in higher education. She resides in Phoenix with her husband, Benjamin F. Brown. Through their private charitable foundation, they support social service agencies and the arts.