More than 2,000 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. 15 in the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.
William J. Post, chairman of the board and CEO of Pinnacle West Capital Corp., the parent company of APS, will speak at the early ceremony. At the later ceremony, Harold L. Elliott, educator and retired from Harold L. Elliott Investments, will be keynote speaker.
Both speakers will receive an honorary doctorate in humane letters for their contributions to NAU and their respective communities.
The ceremony for graduates from the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Business Administration and the College of Arts and Letters will begin at 10 a.m. The later ceremony for graduates of the College of Education and the Consortium of Professional Schools will begin at 3.
A graduate of Arizona State University, Post joined APS in 1973 and became an officer with the company in1982. He has held several leadership positions since then and was named chairman of the board for both Pinnacle West and APS in 2001.
Post is director of ASU’s Sun Angel Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and the Desert Botanical Garden. He is past chairman of the 1998 Valley of the Sun United Way Campaign and the immediate past chairman of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. Under Post’s direction, APS has been a major contributor to NAU’s Centennial Campaign.
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Elliott, who retired in 1975 as principal of Kofa High School in Yuma, is an NAU alumnus and a former president of the Alumni Association and former chairman of the Past Presidents Club. He was instrumental in the development of the Northern Arizona University-Yuma and Yavapai College partnerships.
Elliott is married to NAU alumna Marion Elliott, who has been a long-time director of the NAU Foundation. The two have also endowed several funds at NAU, including the Elliott Visual Arts Fund and the Harold and Marion Elliott Scholarship.
Harold Elliott has won many awards for his contributions to NAU, including the 1976 Alumni Achievement Award, the 1982 Alumni Service Award, the 1997 Centennial Award, the 1993 Yuma County Education Foundation Hall of Fame Professional Educator Award, and the 2006 NAU Alumni Association Joe and Marie Rolle Spirit Award.
NAU will be presenting 1,033 bachelor’s degrees, 1,048 master’s degrees and 24 doctoral degrees to fall graduates.
To view a web cast of both ceremonies and for parking or other information visit www.nau.edu/graduation.