Longtime UA Administrator and Advocate Mary Jolley to Receive Honorary Degree at UA’s Spring Commencement Ceremonies May 8

TUSCALOOSA, Ala — Dr. Mary Jolley, long-time University of Alabama administrator and advocate, will receive an honorary degree during UA’s spring commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 8 at Coleman Coliseum.

Two University-wide commencement ceremonies will be held this year, at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively, to award degrees. Jolley will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters during the morning ceremonies.

Also during the morning ceremonies, Beth Andrada, a math teacher at Virgil I. Grissom High School in Huntsville, will be recognized as the first recipient of the Capstone Inspiring Educator Award.  A new University of Alabama tradition, this award recognizes high school teachers who have inspired UA students. Members of the UA senior class were invited to nominate a high school teacher whose commitment to helping students and inspirational approach to teaching made a difference in their lives. Andrada was nominated by graduating senior Dana Lewis.

Jolley, a native of Ward, received her bachelor’s degree in education from UA in 1951. Following graduation, she worked for Congressman Carl Elliott and helped enact the National Defense Education Act of 1958, which became the first national student loan program.

In 1984 Jolley was named director of economic and community affairs at UA where she created individualized outreach programs for towns and cities across the state, helping them recruit industry, retain existing businesses, and prepare a qualified workforce to meet emerging needs.

Since her retirement from UA in 1994, Jolley works with the Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers to assist communities, particularly in the Black Belt, on issues related to children and families, health, education, literacy, and job creation.

Her honors include The University of Alabama Distinguished Alumna Award, the Martin Luther King Realizing the Dream Founders Award, and the 2009 Alabama Entrepreneur Institute Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

At the 9 a.m. ceremony the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration and the Colleges of Communication and Information Sciences, Education, Engineering, and Nursing will award their degrees.

At 1:30 p.m., degrees will be conferred in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education, Human Environmental Sciences, and the School of Social Work.

The School of Law’s ceremony will be at 5:30 p.m. in Coleman Coliseum. Jan Crawford, chief legal correspondent for CBS News, will be the featured speaker.

Crawford, a UA alumnus, is a recognized authority on the Supreme Court whose 2007 book, “Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for the Control of the United States Supreme Court,” gained critical acclaim and became an instant New York Times Bestseller.  She has reported on most of the major judicial appointments and confirmation hearings of the past 15 years.

Saturday’s ceremonies will be broadcast live over the Internet. The web cast will be archived on UA’s Web site, http://www.ua.edu, and will be available for viewing until May 31.

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