University to award 3,300 degrees at Dec. 13 commencement, 81-year-old among the graduates

December 3, 2014
Categories: General News Tags: Academic Affairs, Chancellor, Scholarship and Academic Life, University Operations

Commencement ceremonies celebrate the completion of one’s educational journey – no matter how long it may take. This is especially true for one UNC Charlotte graduate at fall commencement Saturday, Dec. 13.

Barbara Coberly, 81, will be among the roughly 3,320 students who will gather with family, friends and others in Halton Arena to receive their undergraduate, master’s or doctoral degrees.

barbara coberlyCoberly, a Huntersville resident, will receive a bachelor’s degree in sociology. According to an article in the Herald Weekly, Coberly has a 3.9 GPA as of spring 2014. She moved to Huntersville in 2002 to be near family. While in California, she earned an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts in 1987 from Santa Monica City College. Coberly worked at a Host International California office, where she eventually served as office manager to 300 people. After relocating to Huntersville, she enrolled at UNC Charlotte in 2005 under a program that waived tuition for those older than 65.

“I wanted to finish my degree,” Coberly told the Huntersville Herald. “It had always been in the back of my mind.” In recognition of her academic achievements, she has been inducted in Sigma Alpha Lambda, Phi Kappa Phi and the Golden Key International Honour Society.

UNC Charlotte will hold two commencement ceremonies for degree candidates Dec. 13. The College of Arts + Architecture, Belk College of Business, College of Computing and Informatics, College of Health and Human Services, Lee College of Engineering and Graduate School will award degrees at 10 a.m. The College of Education, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the Graduate School will confer degrees at 3 p.m.

Approximately 2,270 students will be awarded bachelor’s degrees, and 1,050 graduate students will receive their degrees, including 62 doctoral students.

UNC Charlotte will offer a live stream of the ceremonies via the Web. Adobe Flash Player will be needed to view the video stream. More details are posted on the commencement website. Residents in the Charlotte area can tune into a live broadcast of each ceremony on Time Warner Cable (UNC Charlotte Channel 22 or digital channel 97.5).

Photo (inset) Barbara Coberly from the Herald Weekly.