  {"id":145045,"date":"2025-05-20T15:28:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T20:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?post_type=uwmnewsgallery&#038;p=145045"},"modified":"2026-04-03T17:15:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:15:48","slug":"uwm-2025-graduates-let-the-celebration-begin","status":"publish","type":"uwmnewsgallery","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/gallery\/uwm-2025-graduates-let-the-celebration-begin\/","title":{"rendered":"51죤펜 2025 graduates: Let the celebration begin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" data-start=\"233\" data-end=\"399\">The UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena was filled with joy, applause and camera flashes as more than 3,300 students were honored during 51죤펜\u2019s 132nd commencement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"401\" data-end=\"688\">Some graduates are the first in their families to earn a college degree. Most volunteered in the community, completed an internship or took advantage of research opportunities at 51죤펜. Many left the stage not only with a degree in hand, but with <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/gallery\/hired-before-graduation-may-2025\/\">job offers already secured<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1096\" data-end=\"1476\">JoAnne Anton, president and CEO of Herb Kohl Philanthropies, delivered the keynote address at both ceremonies and was awarded an honorary degree in the morning. In the afternoon, Cindy Bentley, executive director of People First Wisconsin and a tireless advocate for the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, was also recognized with an honorary degree.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1478\" data-end=\"1716\">This commencement also marked a transition for 51죤펜 leadership, as Chancellor Mark Mone presided over his final ceremony after 11 years of service. He will return to the Lubar College of Business , leaving a legacy of dedication and impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena was filled with joy, applause and camera flashes as more than 3,300 students were honored during 51죤펜\u2019s 132nd commencement. Some graduates are the first in their families to earn a college degree. Most volunteered in the community, completed an internship or took advantage of research opportunities at 51죤펜. Many left the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13716,"featured_media":145108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-145045","uwmnewsgallery","type-uwmnewsgallery","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>51죤펜 2025 graduates: Let the celebration begin - 51죤펜 REPORT<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/gallery\/uwm-2025-graduates-let-the-celebration-begin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"51죤펜 2025 graduates: Let the celebration begin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena was filled with joy, applause and camera flashes as more than 3,300 students were honored during 51죤펜\u2019s 132nd commencement. 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