Eric Baker, Delaney Tarr named convocation speakers

Grady College proudly announces speakers for its online 2022 spring convocation. Alumnus Eric Baker (ABJ ‘90) has been selected to deliver the charge to candidates and Delaney Tarr, a graduating journalism major, has been selected as the distinguished senior speaker.

The online convocation will be available for viewing on the UGAGrady YouTube channel, UGAGrady Facebook page or the Grady College graduation webpage starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 13.

Following a positive response from graduates over the past few semesters, the online convocation will be accompanied by a Celebration of Graduates from 2 to 5 p.m. on May 13, before the UGA Commencement at 7 p.m. at Sanford Stadium. Commencement ceremonies for graduate students will be held on May 13 at 9:30 a.m. at Stegeman Coliseum.

Eric Baker is senior prop manager with Universal Creative, where he contributed to multiple award winning projects including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park and Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida. He supervised the design, construction, art direction and installation of more than 106,000 pieces of props and set dressing. Prior to Universal, Baker served as creative director for Walt Disney Imagineering and was responsible for storytelling and playscapes of everything from Disney cruise ships to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Baker spent time on the Star Wars film sets, as well as traveling the world to find almost 100,000 pieces of props and set dressing that brings Galaxy’s Edge to life.  He graduated from Grady College with a degree in EMST (then Telecommunication Arts) and was active as a student with WUOG and the University Union.

Delaney Tarr is a senior from Coral Springs, Florida, studying journalism with a minor in women’s studies. Tarr has interests in broadcast news, political reporting and food writing, and her background in activism led her to pursue stories that uplift unheard voices in the community. She has spent her collegiate career writing for The Red & Black, UGA’S student-run independent newspaper. During the summer of 2021, Tarr interned with the independent news outlet The Pavlovic Today as a White House reporter and Gen Z voice reporter. She was named a 2022 McGill Fellow and was active in Phi Kappa, the debate society.

Online Convocation

All spring 2022 graduates are invited to submit a photo or short video clip to be included in the online convocation program. Details and a custom link for each graduate can be found in the emails from StageClip. The deadline to submit materials is May 6, 2022. Questions can be directed to Karen Andrews.

Graduation Celebration

Grady College’s Spring 2022 Graduation Celebration will take place on the College lawn and is open to graduates and their families.

Graduates can walk across the graduation stage, have their name read aloud by a faculty member and receive congratulations from Dean Davis.

• AdPR faculty will be on hand to read names of AdPR graduates from 2 to 3 p.m.
• Journalism faculty will be on hand to read names of journalism graduates from 3 to 4 p.m.
• EMST faculty will be on hand to read names of EMST graduates from 4 to 5 p.m.

While these are dedicated times for each department, graduates and their families are welcome any time during the event and names will be called whatever time period is most convenient.

This drop-in celebration will feature light refreshments and will feature the online convocation ceremony playing on a loop throughout the event.

Visit the Grady College Graduation webpage starting May 13 for a list of graduates and messages of congratulations.

Visit the UGA Commencement for more details about the UGA ceremonies.