Professor Acree serving as faculty marshal in Spring 2021 graduate school commencement

William Acree will be one of two faculty marshals in the graduate school commencement ceremony this year.  The Office of Graduate Studies confers this honor to those who have done significant work to advance and support graduate students.  This past year, Acree served as the chair of the Executive Committee of the Graduate Council, the governing body for doctoral students. He is also the Director of Graduate Studies in Hispanic Studies and Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity.  The other faculty marshal is Prof. Arpita Bose in Biology who was chosen for her work with STEM pipelines for women and underrepresented minorities. 

 

Professor Laurie Maffly-Kipp, Interim Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies and Vice Provost for Graduate Education, shares that “Billy has been a leader this year as the chair of the Executive Committee of the Graduate Council.  He has done a tremendous job leading us through discussions of importance for all of our students.  I especially appreciate his focus on the future of doctoral education and his keen awareness of the particular needs of diverse populations on our campus.”

Acree is thrilled and honored to serve as a faculty marshal. He commented: “I am so grateful to Dean Maffly-Kipp for this opportunity, and for all she has done to enhance graduate and professional education. Our graduate students play so many pivotal roles in the research and teaching missions of the university, and they are so vital to our communities. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with colleagues on the Executive Committee and across the university to think about how to make graduate education more inclusive and equitable, how faculty and programs can bolster infrastructures of support for graduate students across the board, and how these elements are central to the continued distinction of graduate education going forward.”