Spring commencement at UAB will be conducted in two ceremonies Saturday, May 7, 2011, in Bartow Arena. About half of the 2,507 eligible graduates will participate.  Both ceremonies will be streamed live at www.uab.edu/commencementlive.

Ceremonies for the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education will begin at 9:30 a.m.; commencement for the schools of Business, Engineering, Public Health, Health Professions, Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Optometry will begin at 2 p.m.

Undergraduate and graduate students will give the commencement address at each ceremony. Rebecca Ann Bach, Ph.D., an English professor in the College of Arts and Sciences and winner of the 2011 Ireland Award for Scholarly Distinction, will be the mace carrier for both ceremonies.

2 p.m. commencement ceremony

Stephanie A. Cunningham of Monroeville, Ala., will deliver the undergraduate commencement address. Cunningham is a student in the University Honors Program and the recipient of several academic scholarships. She was vice president of the School of Business’s student leader organization and treasurer of the National Association of Black Accountants. Cunningham volunteered heavily throughout her college career and in 2009 was named the Wiregrass Hospice Administrative Volunteer of the Year. She will receive a bachelor’s of science degree in accounting with a minor in management. She plans to attend the University of Michigan’s School of Law in the fall and then pursue a career in corporate law. Her parents are Jemison and Carol Cunningham.

Leigh Booth of O’Fallon, Ill., will deliver the graduate commencement address.  Booth worked as a graduate assistant in the UAB Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration. During her time at UAB, she had the opportunity to travel internationally to participate in a collaborative research project at the Technical University of Lodz in Poland. She was a recipient of the Ireland Tuition Scholarship from the UAB Graduate School. She is graduating with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering and plans to pursue a career related to the research and development of biomedical materials and devices. She is the daughter of Damon and Janet Booth.