As the first graduate crossed the stage at Allstate Arena in Rosemont this past Sunday morning, American history was made.

Karen Alkoby – first in the alphabetical lineup of DePaul’s College of Computing and Digital Media grads – was draped with her doctoral hood, making her the first deaf woman in the U.S. to receive a Ph.D. in computer science.

The emotional day was the culmination of an eight-year journey for Alkoby, who had worked tirelessly to explore and research methods of using technology to improve ways for the deaf community to communicate.

“It’s hard to believe that I’m actually done,” said Alkoby via an interpreter. “Now I really feel like I’m flying out of the safety net. But DePaul prepared me well, so I’m ready for the next chapter.”

Alkoby’s dissertation, “An Analytic Model of Handshape Similarity in American Sign Language (ASL),” focused on the lack of standardization in ASL and how that might be alleviated to create a true, two-way, ASL-English dictionary.

ASL is a language used by more than one million Americans, but there are wide discrepancies in how it is interpreted by each user. ASL is not a linear language parallel to English, so the lack of standardization presents a problem for those communicating through ASL, particularly since a minor shift in the angle of a digit or fingertip can create an entirely different word or phrase.

“Handshape, or the posture of the hand, is one of the distinctive features of American Sign Language (ASL).” Alkoby wrote in her dissertation’s abstract. “Handshape is one of the most recognizable aspects of individual signs. However, there is little consensus about the number of distinct handshapes in ASL, and there is even less consensus about similarity among handshapes.” Alkoby’s research used 3-D modeling to analyze 40 different handshapes common to ASL and sought out a common interpretation for each. The goal was “to contribute toward the development of a true bilingual ASL-English dictionary that allows users to find the meaning of a sign based on the sign’s appearance.”

While she has spent time teaching ASL to deaf immigrants, Alkoby’s long-term goal is to teach computer science to deaf students, a field where the deaf community is underrepresented. Alkoby also has been an integral part of DePaul’s ASL Project, which utilized graphics and voice recognition software to develop an animated sign language interpreter.

In addition to Alkoby’s historic accomplishment, the more than 4,000 DePaul graduates who received their degrees this past weekend were treated to an array of world-renowned speakers at the six ceremonies (plus the College of Law ceremony, which was held in May).

At the combined CDM and College of Communication ceremony, technology pioneer Mitchell Kapor, developer of the revolutionary Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software who now runs non-profit organizations devoted to civil liberties and education, spoke of the importance of providing access to technology to underserved populations.

“What every economist tells us is that the best way in the long term to improve opportunity and decrease inequality is to improve access to education and create the kind of work force which is a leader in innovation,” Kapor said. “If we do these things, we increase the chances that achieving the American Dream is more reality than fantasy.”

Additionally, David Simon, author, screenwriter and creator of the popular HBO show “The Wire,” spoke in memory of DePaul CDM associate professor Ashley Morris, who died in April. Simon and Morris had become acquainted via a few of the show’s fan Web sites, where Morris – a popular New Orleans blogger – would post frequently about the themes of the show. Simon lauded Morris’ passion and fire, and the fact that he was “angry for the right reasons.”

“What I want to leave you with today is a healthy respect for anger,” Simon said. “That’s right, I’m advocating for anger. Not selfish, petulant anger… but anger on behalf of others and anger for the society as a whole.”

Graduates from DePaul’s College of Commerce and Kellstadt Graduate School of Business were addressed by world-renowned chef Charlie Trotter, who encouraged the class to not settle for being adequate in their pursuits.

“Always regard yourself as your own toughest boss, with the highest expectations,” Trotter said.

However, Trotter also noted that all the success in the world is of little use if it isn’t accompanied by a respect for the greater good.

“Life doesn’t mean anything unless you can make a difference in your community,” he said.

At the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences ceremony, Mae C. Jemison, astronaut on the space shuttle Endeavour, physician, engineer and teacher, spoke to the graduates.

Other commencement speakers included Carla Michelotti, general counsel at Leo Burnett Worldwide (College of Law); Danling Fu, professor and pioneer of approaches to writing development and literacy for English language learners (School of Education); Daniel “Henry” E. Moran III, director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (School of Music and The Theatre School); and Shirley Ann Jackson, theoretical physicist and president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (School for New Learning).

You can find links to the archived Web casts for each of the ceremonies at http://oaa.depaul.edu/what/commencement_schedule.jsp.

With a total enrollment of 23,401 students on two city and four suburban campuses, DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the nation and the largest private, not-for-profit university in the Midwest. DePaul is an innovative and diverse university offering pragmatic educational programs that instill values, including a commitment to community service.