The University of Arkansas will hold commencement Friday and Saturday, graduating more than 6,500 students.
University commencement, which recognizes graduate students, will kick off the weekend at 8:30 a.m. Friday at Bud Walton Arena, followed by the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at Barnhill Arena at 2:30 p.m and a pair of ceremonies for the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at Bud Walton.
The first Fulbright graduation, at 1:30 p.m., will feature graduates of art, music, theater, English, history, journalism, philosophy, world languages, communication, interdisciplinary studies, international and global studies, and social work. The second, at 4:30 p.m, will include anthropology, political science, psychology, criminology and sociology, biological sciences, chemistry and biochemistry, geosciences, mathematical sciences and physics.
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., will be the featured speaker atcommencement. A graduate of Arkansas Tech University, Womack retired from the Arkansas Army National Guard in 2009 at the rank of colonel with more than 30 years of service. He also served as mayor of Rogers.
Cason Frisby, a food science major and lab technician in the University of Arkansas Meat Science Lab, will be the student speaker for the Bumpers College ceremony. He was chosen for the college’s 2026 John W. White Outstanding Student Award.
Amanda Hux and Abbi Melton will be the student speakers for the first and second Fulbright graduations, respectively.
Hux, the student body president, is a triple major in sociology, criminology and political science, with a minor in legal studies, according to UA. A native of Louisiana, she conducted honors research through an internship with the campus Terrorism Research Center, and she plans to work in a congressional office in Washington, D.C.
Melton, a graduate of the social work program with a minor in legal studies, is a native Texan and a cancer survivor who founded the student organization Community Against Cancer, according to the university. She plans to pursue a master’s degree, and she’s been involved in organizations on and off campus, including the Washington County Mental Health Court, the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition and the Social Work Action Coalition.
The Sam M. Walton College of Business will have three ceremonies at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday. The first, at 8:30 a.m., will include graduates from accounting, economics, international business, finance and information systems. Master’s degree students will have commencement at 11 a.m. The third, at 1 p.m., will include graduates from general business; management; marketing; supply chain management; and strategy, entrepreneurship and venture innovation.
Each Walton College commencement will feature a student speaker: Nevaeh Camarillo, studying finance with a specialization in real estate; Ryan Moh, an international student from Malaysia; and Gretchen Olson, who has focused her studies on supply chain management and marketing.
Also Saturday, the College of Engineering commencement will be 9:30 a.m. in Barnhill Arena, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design will be at Barnhill at 1 p.m., the School of Law will be at Barnhill at 4 p.m., and the College of Education and Health Professions will be 4:30 p.m. at Bud Walton Arena.
Sam Alley, a UA graduate who is now chairman of Little Rock’s VCC Construction, will be the featured speaker for the College of Engineering. Alley, who came to Arkansas with his family from Israel at age 14, was inducted into the University of Arkansas College of Engineering Hall of Fame in 2023, and he and his wife established the university’s Master of Construction Management program, according to UA.
Arkansas Circuit Court Judge John Threet of Fayetteville, an alumnus of the UA School of Law, will be the law school’s speaker. He began his legal career as a deputy public defender, later joining the Washington County prosecutor’s office before successfully running for prosecuting attorney for the 4th Judicial District, according to the university.
Ashlie Hilbun, executive vice president and chief strategy and communications officer for Arkansas Children’s Hospital, will speak at the College of Education and Health Professions. She also served the Arkansas Children’s Foundation as vice president of philanthropy, according to Arkansas Children’s. A graduate of Centenary College, she holds a master’s degree from Tulane University and doctorate of education from UA.
Sloan Aulgur will speak at the architecture and design school’s commencement. An Arkansas native and alumna of the Fay Jones School, she received a master’s degree in architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she served as a research and design lead at Matter Design, according to the university. She’s an architectural designer at Rockwell Group in New York.
This spring’s 144 graduates are a record for the Fay Jones School, according to Dean Peter MacKeith. Enrollment in the school has grown roughly 250% over the past dozen years.
Doors will open 45 minutes prior to each ceremony. Tickets are not required at any ceremony, but a clear bag policy will be in effect; a list of prohibited items is available online at the university’s website.
Free parking is available in any unrestricted parking lot on campus, and campus drop-off for individuals with disabilities is located at the south entrance of Bud Walton, with disabled parking available in lot 60, or lots 45A and 45B on the west and south sides for Barnhill Arena.
Those unable to attend can livestream commencement on the university’s YouTube channel.
Ryan Anderson
Ryan Anderson covers higher education across the state. He joined the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in August 2022 after covering education — and other topics — for a decade at four newspapers in three states. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ryan attended DePaul University in Chicago and now resides in Fayetteville.
