By Larry B. Dendy
Graduating seniors will have a chance to hear UGA's new Pulitzer Prize winner when Edward J. Larson speaks at the 195th commencement exercises June 13.
Larson, a professor of history and law who won the Pulitzer for history last month, will speak at the undergraduate commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. in Sanford Stadium, or in Stegeman Coliseum in case of rain.
President Michael F. Adams will mark his first anniversary at the university by speaking at the commencement ceremony for graduate students at 2:30 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum.
All students who have completed degree requirements since last summer are eligible to participate in June commencement. About 5,100 students have completed requirements for bachelor's degrees since last summer, and about 1,800 students have completed requirements for master's, doctoral and educational specialist degrees.
Larson, 44, is the first person to win a Pulitzer Prize as a member of the UGA faculty. He received the award for his 1997 book Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion.
An authority on the history of science and the relationship between law and science, Larson holds a law degree from Harvard and two degrees from the University of Wisconsin--a master's in history and a doctorate in the history of science. He earned a bachelor's with honors in history from Williams College.
Adams, UGA's 21st president, previously was president of Centre College for nine years and vice president for university affairs at Pepperdine University.
Widely recognized for his leadership and expertise in government, educational administration and educational marketing, Adams has received more than 20 national awards, including the Award for National Presidential Leadership from the Knight Foundation, which called him "one of the most innovative and creative young college presidents in America."
Adams graduated magna cum laude from David Lipscomb College with a bachelor's degree in speech and history.
He attended Ohio State University for graduate work, earning a master's degree in political communications and a doctorate in political communications with an interdisciplinary emphasis in educational administration.
