GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- James Pawelczyk, a U.S. Astronaut, will be the keynote speaker at the commencement ceremony for the College of Health and Human Performance this Saturday.

An associate professor at Penn State University, Pawelczyk was a payload specialist for the neurolab space shuttle mission in April and May of 1998. To this day, he continues to do research as a NASA funded investigator.

UF Alumni Association president-elect Jeff Jonasen will present the Outstanding Leader Award to William L. Atkins. Atkins recently was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame earlier this past year.

Michael Tudeen, the 2009 Health Education and Behavior Student of the Year, will be the student speaker at this weekend’s ceremony. Tudeen will go onto serve in the Peace Corps in the Africa as part of the area of health education before he attends medical school at the University of South Florida.

Those graduating Summa Cum Laude or highest honors secured at least a 3.7 GPA and successfully completed a thesis. On top of Tudeen (health education) receiving this honor, other Summa Cum Laude graduates include Jessica Blank (health education), Alexis Douglas (athletic training), Caitlin Burke (recreation, parks and tourism), Kimberly Hook (health education), Ashley Johnson (recreation, parks and tourism), Erin Leonhardt (recreation, parks and tourism), Rebecca Mills (health education), Aaron Struminger (athletic training), and Jay Salmon (applied physiology and kinesiology).

Commencement will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Phillips Center for Performing Arts and tickets are required. A reception for graduates and guests will be held after the ceremony. For family and friends who are unable to attend the ceremony, a live Web cast will be shown at http://at.ufl.edu/~video/main/liveStreams/wm.php?id=2430 (Windows Media Player) or http://at.ufl.edu/~video/main/liveStreams/real.php?id=2430 (Real Player).

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