Fall commencement ceremonies to be held Dec. 15

Can't make it to the ceremonies? Join us on UM-Dearborn's Facebook page Saturday, Dec. 15, to watch a live stream.

University of Michigan-Dearborn will host two commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 15. The morning ceremony, recognizing graduates of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the College of Business, will begin at 10 a.m. The afternoon ceremony, for graduates of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters and the College of Education, Health, and Human Services will begin at 3 p.m.

Entry to the Fieldhouse and all venues is by ticket only, and all guests should be seated 30 minutes before the start of the ceremony. Additional commencement information is available on UM-Dearborn's website.

Emily Kolinski Morris (’90 B.A.), chief economist at Ford Motor Co., will be the keynote speaker for both ceremonies. Bioengineering student Dina Shohatee, Computer and Information Science Associate Professor Marouane Kessentini and alumna Rand Beech ('09 B.B.A.) also will give remarks during the morning ceremony; while general studies student Courtney Grove-Dyer, Political Science Associate Professor Michael Rosano and alumna Gay Johnson (’17 B.A.) will speak during the afternoon ceremony.

Emily Kolinski Morris joined Ford Motor Company in 1997 and during that time has conducted economic analysis in varying roles for all of Ford’s major global markets, before becoming Ford’s chief economist in 2014. In this capacity, she manages the corporate economics group with major responsibility for the company's global economic and automotive industry forecasts supporting business strategy, finance and planning.

Prior to joining Ford, Morris spent four years as a fiscal analyst with the Michigan House of Representatives. In that non-partisan position, she provided council to House members on program funding and performance, testified regularly before the House Appropriations committee and interacted with stakeholders at all levels of state government.

Morris earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in Economics and International Studies and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan. She is active in various professional organizations, currently serving on the board of the Council for Economic Education. She previously served a three-year term as an elected board member of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), and is also a past president of the Detroit chapter of that organization. In 2015, she earned the designation of certified business economist (CBE) granted by NABE.