  {"id":152176,"date":"2025-12-22T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T23:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?post_type=uwmnewsgallery&#038;p=152176"},"modified":"2026-04-03T17:09:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:09:30","slug":"congratulations-to-the-fall-class-of-2025","status":"publish","type":"uwmnewsgallery","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/gallery\/congratulations-to-the-fall-class-of-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Congratulations to the Fall Class of 2025!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" data-start=\"233\" data-end=\"399\">The UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena was filled with pride Sunday as the university handed out just over 1,500 degrees, including 1,100 bachelor&#8217;s degrees, nearly 300 master&#8217;s degrees and 34 doctoral degrees.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"233\" data-end=\"399\">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 51ÁÔÆæ. 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\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">job offers already secured<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The ceremony also marked a milestone for the university, serving as the first commencement led by 51ÁÔÆæ Chancellor Thomas Gibson, who joined the university over the summer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lea Denny, founder of HIR Wellness Institute, <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/graduation\/commencement\/commencement-program\/2025-december-commencement-program\/honorary-degree-recipient\/\">received an honorary doctorate<\/a> of Community Mental Health\u00a0and Leadership in recognition of her decades of work researching and developing a comprehensive mental health model that directly addresses historical and intergenerational trauma.<\/p>\n<p>The celebration was <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/graduation\/commencement\/commencement-program\/2025-december-commencement-program\/commencement-speaker\/\">capped by a commencement address<\/a> from Gale Klappa, a 1972 51ÁÔÆæ graduate and chairman of the board of WEC Energy Group, who encouraged graduates as they begin the next chapter of their journeys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena was filled with pride Sunday as the university handed out just over 1,500 degrees, including 1,100 bachelor&#8217;s degrees, nearly 300 master&#8217;s degrees and 34 doctoral degrees. 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":916,"featured_media":152165,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-152176","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>Congratulations to the Fall Class of 2025! - 51ÁÔÆæ 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\/congratulations-to-the-fall-class-of-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Congratulations to the Fall Class of 2025!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena was filled with pride Sunday as the university handed out just over 1,500 degrees, including 1,100 bachelor&#8217;s degrees, nearly 300 master&#8217;s degrees and 34 doctoral degrees. 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