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This afternoon, the University of Alaska Southeast will honor graduates from summer and fall 2008, and spring 2009 in this year's commencement ceremonies.

The Juneau campus is conferring 300 associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees and 48 certificates and endorsements. More than 100 students are expected to participate in the ceremony, which will take place at 2 p.m. at the university's Student Recreation Center, 12300 Mendenhall Loop Road.

The public is invited to the ceremony and to a post-commencement reception at the Mourant cafeteria on the Auke Lake campus. Parking is on the main campus. Shuttle bus transportation to the SRC is provided.

Thirty-four Sitka students and 19 Ketchikan students already received degrees or certificates at ceremonies held Friday in Sitka and Saturday in Ketchikan.

Also, more than 38 Alaska Natives are graduating from the university's three regional campuses. Nearly 14 percent of UAS students are Alaska Native. Over the past five years, an average of 10 percent of UAS graduates have been Alaska Native.

As the first woman to win a statewide nomination for Lieutenant Governor in 1978, Katie Hurley is the speaker for the Juneau ceremony. She also served as the chief clerk of the Alaska Constitutional Convention and as assistant to Governors Ernest Gruening and Bill Egan. Hurley is the 1995 recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from UAS.

In Juneau, Honorary Doctorate of Laws degrees will be conferred on Laraine Derr and Marlene Johnson. Derr is the current owner of Chez Alaska Cooking School, UAS advisory board member, foundation trustee and community and civic volunteer. She is a former CEO of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association, UAS School of Business Dean and Commissioner of Revenue.

Johnson is a current Huna Heritage Foundation board chair and former chairman of Sealaska Corp. and the Rural Alaska Community Action program. In partnership with the National Park Service, Marlene organizes elder-youth heritage catamaran trips from Juneau and Hoonah to Glacier Bay.

The Juneau student speaker, Forest Kvasnikoff, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in social science with an emphasis in history. Kvasnikoff is the Outstanding Graduate in Social Science and a Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska Schools (PITAAS) scholarship recipient who plans to teach in rural Alaska. Regents William Andrews and Kent Fischer, of Juneau, will be in attendance.

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In Sitka, Mayor Scott McAdams addressed Sitka graduates. In December 2008, McAdams was selected by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce and Alaska Journal of Commerce as one of the "Alaska's Top Forty Under 40." McAdams is a graduate of Sheldon Jackson College, and works at the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka.

Herman Kitka received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the Sitka campus commencement. Kitka is an elder Kaagwaantaan leader, Alaska Native Brotherhood leader, Sitka Tribe of Alaska founding member, civil rights advocate, Native land rights activist, totem carver, scholar of Tlingit culture, language and tradition, seal hunter and boat captain.

In Ketchikan, Rasmuson Foundation president Diane Kaplan spoke. In 2001, Kaplan was named president of the Anchorage-based philanthropic Rasmuson Foundation. Her consulting company began administering the Foundation in 1995. She was previously president and chief executive officer of Alaska's 28-station public radio network.

Also, Christa Kotrc received an honorary Doctorate in Education at the Ketchikan commencement. Kotrc is a longtime educator, mentor, international exchange advocate and scholar of many areas, including classical music, educational technology and democracy in emerging nations.