Roughly 4,7000 students and 33,000 of their family, friends and supporters filled Arizona Stadium on May 10 to celebrate the University of Arizona's 160th Commencement, where President Robert C. Robbins conferred about 8,000 degrees.
Commencement speaker Craig T. Nelson, an Emmy Award-winning actor and UArizona alumnus, told graduates during his speech that his road to success started with the support he received during his time as a Wildcat in the 1960s.
"What I received here was a love for words, a feeling of being accepted, a feeling of being encouraged … that I could do this, I could make something of myself," he said. "I had this dream, this vision, of celebrity and stardom and making a living by doing that and being something when inside I really felt like not much."
Before Nelson's address, attendees heard remarks from Robbins, Interim Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Ron Marx, college deans, Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Alyssa Sanchez and others.
"We've been through a lot as a community, and I know the past few years have had their challenges," Robbins said in his remarks. "But we keep coming back because all of us believe in you, in your hopes and your dreams. Tonight is an opportunity to celebrate you and all of the people who work with you every day to help you reach this moment."
Lillian Gorman, associate professor and director of the Spanish as a Heritage Language Program in the College of Humanities, gave the ceremony's greeting in Spanish. Christina Bell Andrews, executive director of the Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health at the College of Medicine – Tucson, read the university's Land Acknowledgement, first in O'odham and then in English.
See scenes from the 160th Commencement in the photo gallery above and watch a recording of the event on YouTube.