The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), celebrating its year-long sesquicentennial, will host its 168th commencement ceremony on Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 10 a.m. (processional begins at 9:45 a.m.) at the Pine Bluff Convention Center located at 1 Convention Center Plaza and will livestream the ceremony via YouTube. Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D., will serve as commencement speaker.
Congresswoman Adams was elected to her fifth full term representing the 12th Congressional District of North Carolina on November 3, 2022. Proving victorious in a special election in November 2014, Congresswoman Adams was immediately sworn in as the 100th woman elected to the 113th Congress. She serves on the Committee on Education & The Workforce, the Committee on Agriculture, and the subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development. Dr. Adams is a Ranking Member on the subcommittee on Workforce Protections. In addition, she serves on the Agriculture subcommittee on Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture and Horticulture and the subcommittee on Farm Commodities, Risk Management and Credit. Her legislative accomplishments include the enactment of H.R. 5363, the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act that permanently provides $255 million annually for all Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), including $85 million for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and the establishment of a new $50 million research and development grant program for HBCUs and MSIs in the 2023 federal budget.
Congresswoman Adams graduated from North Carolina A&T State University in 1968 and received her master’s degree in art education in 1972. She earned her Ph.D. in art education and multicultural education from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 1981.
For guests needing mobility accommodations, an ADA compliant seating section is reserved for guests needing accessible seating and one additional guest. ADA parking and seating are available on a first come, first served basis. Early arrival is encouraged. Guests who need to be seated in a wheelchair during the ceremony should bring a wheelchair, as wheelchairs will not be provided for use throughout the ceremony.
Pine Bluff Convention Center doors will open at 7:30 a.m., and guests should allow extra time for entry. Doors will close once the processional begins at 9:45 a.m. and will not reopen until the graduates are seated in the arena. Metal detectors will be located at the main entrance. All carried-in items will be searched by security personnel prior to entering the Pine Bluff Convention Center. Prohibited items must be returned to the owner’s vehicle or discarded. Items left at the entrance will be discarded. Any unlawful items are subject to confiscation, and the person in possession of such items is subject to arrest. The Pine Bluff Convention Center’s Clear Bag Policy will also be enforced. Backpacks, fanny packs, and handbags are prohibited. The following items are allowed:
Clear plastic bags (1 per person) no larger than 12″x6″x12″
One-gallon clear plastic freezer bags (1 per person)
Non-transparent clutch purses or wallets no larger than 1”x4.5″x 6.5″ (1 per person)
For more information about commencement exercises, contact Registrar Aretha Lacefield at [email protected].
