Monday, May 8, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 5
Commencement ceremony is a team effort
By Rachel Fox
Special to the Kansan
Getting ready for graduation can be an exhausting task. Imagine all the University has to do to make sure the final march, is a grand march.
"KU is known for our smooth and timely commencement ceremony, especially without a full practice," said Jeff Wienberg, assistant to the chancellor.
To ensure a smooth ceremony, a graduation committee meets year round to discuss problems and changes.
"Everything gets done, everyone on the committee is someone who has been with graduation for at least
three or four years," Wienberg said.
"These people are in charge of making sure the job is done or finding someone else to get the job done."
Weinberg said that all the duties happened automatically because people were used to getting the job done.
Some of the busiest people on graduation day are the people on the phones at the KU Information office in the Kansas Union.
"That is the busiest day for us," said Susan Elkins, director of KU Info. "If anything happens we are the first ones told because everyone calls us to find out information."
Elkins said the information line played a vital role in directing peo
ple to all sorts of places.
"We are asked where to land planes, alternate driving routes to Lawrence, and most importantly timing and weather changes," she said. "We even get calls from graduates asking where they can get their gown because they forgot it, or from teachers asking where they are supposed to line up."
The Public Safety Office and Parking Department also will be really busy.
"Besides worrying about heat and the elderly visitors, traffic control is our biggest job," said Chris Keary, assistant director of public safety.
Parking Department employees agree that the day gets very long
dealing with a lot of traffic.
"Commencement is a different but pleasant experience, it's fun but long," said Rita Jordan, field and office supervisor.
Those three departments are very busy for one day. But one department spends all year getting ready for the big day. Facilities Operations spends the whole year planning and preparing the stadium and campus for the commencement ceremony.
Bence Williams, assistant director of administration and personnel of facilities operations, said employees groom the campus and make sure that all equipment is working properly for the ceremony.
Economy provides healthy job market for graduates
Bv Jared Webb
Special to the Kansan
Spring graduates should have little trouble finding a job if they take advantage of a healthy job market, said Gall S. Rooney, director of University Career and Employment Services.
College graduates have enjoyed an excellent job market because of the good economy, and she said there should be no change for this year's graduating class.
"There are a lot of opportunities out there," Rooney said. "If they do their work and come to us to help them, they will find a job."
According to a report released by the National Association of Colleges and Employers last fall, overall hiring is expected to increase by 14.5 percent. The entire job market has seen an
increase, but the service and technical industries are seeing the biggest increase, Rooney said, adding that service-industry hiring was expected to increase by 17.5 percent.
Amanda Romek, Englewood, Colo., graduate student in the School of Business, will receive a master's degree in accounting and informational systems. She said she had had a job lined up since last August.
"It was not very hard for me to get the job," she said. "It stemmed from the internship I had last summer."
Kim Wilson, Independence senior and chemical engineering student, said the job market for chemical engineers was very good.
"I will probably have a job after graduation," she said. "I am not too worried about it. Not to sound arrogant, but I don't believe it will be a
problem."
Some students become worried once graduation grew near, and they do not have a job lined up yet, Rooney said. She said one of the biggest problems she had was that students came in panicked, thinking there were no positions out there for them.
"The problem is not that there are not any jobs out there," she said. "The problem is the students do not have a plan and have not done any work to research companies that they may be interested in working for."
Lisa Leroux-Smith, director for Business and Engineering Career Services, said problems many students had when looking for a job were the lack of focus as to what they wanted to do.
You may be walking down the Hill but your favorite sports columnists will be back next fall Keep up with Jonesey's unique views of the world and Derek Prater's biting criticisms of KU athletics at
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