CHICAGO — Nearly 6,500 students are graduating from DePaul University this spring. The university will celebrate this accomplishment with six different commencement ceremonies that are set for this weekend. Three will be held on June 15 at The Rosemont Theatre in Rosemont and three will be held June 16 in the Skyline Ballroom at McCormick Place in Chicago.

Those unable to attend may watch a live stream of the event at http://bit.ly/14zp1Vg by clicking on the word “webcast” once the ceremony begins.

During commencement, students process across the stage as their names are read. Students earning doctoral degrees — either an Ed.D. or a Ph.D. — also will be honored in a ceremonial academic hooding on stage.

At commencement, universities traditionally confer honorary degrees upon distinguished individuals who have been innovative leaders in their respective fields and have demonstrated outstanding service to others. This weekend, DePaul will honor nine such individuals with the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Their names, along with the names of commencement speakers, are listed below with information for each of the ceremonies.

College of Education
June 15, 8:30 a.m.
The Rosemont Theatre
5400 N. River Road, Rosemont

Natalie Cuevas, a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Science in elementary education, will deliver the student address. Carlotta Walls LaNier, a civil rights pioneer and businesswoman, will deliver the commencement address. She also will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. LaNier holds an important place in the history of America and the history of education as the youngest member of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African-American students who volunteered and were selected to integrate the all-white Central High School in 1957. In 2009, she published her memoir, “A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School.”

School of Music
The Theatre School
(Combined ceremony)
June 15, noon
The Rosemont Theatre
5400 N. River Road, Rosemont

Karly Bergmann, a candidate for the degree Bachelor of Fine Arts in dramaturgy/criticism, will deliver the student address. Maestro Riccardo Muti, music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, arts advocate and humanitarian, will deliver the commencement address. He also will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Muti is considered one of the preeminent conductors in this generation. Beyond his skills as a talented conductor and musician, his social conscience has driven him to bring the sounds of music to people who have experienced a grim side of life, from teenage youth in prison to people living in areas of extreme poverty around the world.

School for New Learning
June 15, 3 p.m.
The Rosemont Theatre
5400 N. River Road, Rosemont

Latasha Melton, a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in liberal studies, will deliver the student address. The Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean, stateswoman, journalist and humanitarian, will deliver the commencement address. She also will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Jean has helped countless victims of domestic violence, earthquake survivors in Haiti and the citizens of Canada, whom she served for five years as the country’s Governor General. These days, she works to inspire the next generation of humanitarians through the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, which she founded with her husband, filmmaker and philosopher Jean-Daniel Lafond.

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
College of Science and Health
(Combined ceremony)
June 16, 8 a.m.
Skyline Ballroom, McCormick Place, West Building
2301 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago

Robert Carfang, a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in economics, will deliver the student address. Eboo Patel, author, interfaith leader and public intellectual, will deliver the commencement address. He also will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Patel formed Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based nonprofit that attempts to create religious understanding by bringing together young people of different religions to perform community service and explore common values. He also serves as an advisor for the White House Office of Faith-based Neighborhood Partnerships. DePaul also will present an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters at this ceremony to the Rev. Stafford Poole, C.M., a Vincentian scholar and historian. Poole is a leading expert in colonial Latin America, the foremost voice on the role of the Catholic Church in 16th century Mexico, and a pioneer in expanding and preserving Vincentian history.

College of Communication
College of Computing and Digital Media
(Combined ceremony)
June 16, 12:30 p.m.
Skyline Ballroom, McCormick Place, West Building
2301 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago

Cassandra Goodpaster, a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in communication, will deliver the student address. Steve James, filmmaker, documentarian and producer, will deliver the commencement address. He also will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. James directs, produces and edits award-winning documentary films with the goal of presenting people’s lives in a truthful and complex way while shining a light on important social issues. His breakthrough film “Hoop Dreams” won every major critics award. He works and lives in Chicago, which is the setting for his 2011 film “The Interrupters.”

Driehaus College of Business
June 16, 4:30 p.m.
Skyline Ballroom, McCormick Place, West Building
2301 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago

Ryan Jeff Zieman, a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Science in business, will deliver the student address. Thomas J. Pritzker, executive chairman, philanthropist and civic leader, will deliver the commencement address. He also will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Pritzker is considered one of the world’s most successful businessmen — and one of its most generous philanthropists. He is executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, CEO and president of The Pritzker Organization, and chairman of The Marmon Group. The Pritzker Foundation, of which he is a trustee, has partnered with organizations to support urban education, art and culture, and health and fitness.

DePaul also will present honorary degrees of Doctor of Humane Letters to Brother Leo V. Ryan, C.S.V., and Frank S. Ptak. Ryan is a former DePaul dean, professor emeritus, business scholar and world traveler. He provided steady leadership during a period of great growth for DePaul’s College of Commerce, now the Driehaus College of Business, taking the college into a modern era. A respected scholar in business ethics and management, Ryan remains an influential voice on these topics and travels the world (190 countries and all seven continents) sharing his research and insight with others. Ptak, a DePaul alumnus, is a business executive, civic leader and philanthropist. He began his business career in the 1960s as an auditor at an accounting firm. Today, he oversees more than 150 businesses as president and CEO of The Marmon Group, a Chicago-based manufacturing and service conglomerate.

The College of Law, which is celebrating its centennial, held its commencement on May 19. Information from that ceremony is at http://depaulne.ws/Law.

This spring marks the 115th commencement for DePaul University. Founded in 1898, DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the United States and the largest private, nonprofit university in the Midwest, with approximately 25,000 students. In addition to the College of Law, the School of Music and the Driehaus College of Business are celebrating centennials. The College of Education is celebrating its 50th year and the School for New Learning is marking its 40th year. DePaul has five Chicagoland campuses, including one in Downtown Chicago and another in Lincoln Park. More at www.depaul.edu.