Astronaut and UND alumna Karen Nyberg, who's still orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station, will be the speaker at UND's summer commencement Aug. 2, the university announced Thursday.
Her message will be recorded and delivered by NASA to UND.
David Dodds, a university spokesman, said UND wanted to ensure there wouldn't be any technical glitches on the big day, which will see 520 students graduating at 3 p.m. at the Chester Fritz Auditorium on campus.
Nyberg, who graduated summa cum laude from UND in 1994, first went into space in 2008 on the space shuttle Discovery, which was adding a new component to the ISS. Her second trip to space began May 28, and she's expected to stay at the ISS until November.
She's been keeping an eye on UND from space. On Wednesday, she wrote on her Twitter account: "CONGRATS to my alma mater @myUND being recognized today w/ JSC Certificate of Appreciation. UND Dept of Space Studies, 25 yrs strong!" That's a reference to the distinguished service award NASA's Johnson Space Center gave to UND's Space Studies Department Tuesday.
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The space center is where Nyberg got her start, working as a student while earning her master's degree at the University of Texas, Austin.
Nyberg, who hails from Vining, Minn., is the first UND alumna to launch into space, according to the university. She's also the 50th woman in space.
Also happening at commencement:
• Norm Skalicky, CEO and owner of Stearns Financial Services will receive an honorary degree. A UND alumnus and a former New Rockford, N.D., banker, he later started Stearns Bank in Albany, Minn. Besides supporting his alma mater, he also established a charitable foundation.
• Professor Michael Wittgraf, chairman of the music department, will be named the Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, UND's top academic honor. His focus is interactive computer music, and his music has been performed around the world. He'll be featured pianist at commencement.
• A live broadcast of the event will be on Grand Forks cable channel 3 and rebroadcast at noon and 8 p.m. Aug. 6 to 9. A webcast, which goes on at 2:30 p.m., will be at und.edu/student-affairs/commencement/watch-commencement.cfm.
More on the Web: Follow Nyberg's Twitter feed.
Call Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 1248; or send email to ttran@gfherald.com .
