The University of Houston-Downtown will host its 2017 Commencement Weekend Dec. 16 - 17, conferring more than 2,100 degrees across three ceremonies.

Ceremonies will begin at 11 a.m., Dec. 16 with the University's 63rd Commencement at Minute Maid Park (501 Crawford St.). More than 1,700 bachelor's and master's candidates from UHD's five colleges (Humanities & Social Sciences, Sciences & Technology, Marilyn Davies College of Business, College of Public Service, and University College) will be in attendance.

Congratulating them on their accomplishments will be U.S. Treasurer Jovita Carranza. Carranza was appointed to this role June. She previously served as Deputy Administrator for the Small Business Administration from 2006 to 2009. In 2004, she was named Woman of the Year by Hispanic Business Magazine. Other honors include being named a Woman of Distinction by the American Association of University Women and NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. Carranza holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Miami.

The Marilyn Davies College of Business's Graduate Programs Commencement will take place during two ceremonies on Dec. 17 at the Bayou Events Center (9401 Knight Road). Approximately 400 degrees (MBA and Master of Security Management) will be conferred during these events.

At 10 a.m., degrees will be conferred for MBA candidates with concentrations of accounting, international business, supply chain management, finance, and investment management. At 3 p.m., degrees will be conferred for Master of Security Management candidates and MBA candidates with concentrations of business development/sales management, leadership, human resources management and general management.

Houston entrepreneur and UHD's College of Business namesake, Marilyn Davies, will speak at both Dec. 17 events. Earlier this year, Davies contributed a naming gift of $10 million naming to the College. She is the first woman in Texas to have a college named after her and the fourth in the country to hold that distinction. She is CEO of Bailey Banks Seismic, LP., which is the proprietor of Professional Geophysics Inc.—a database that includes 25,000 miles of Seismic Data related to exploration areas and basins across the U.S.

The 63rd Commencement will be streamed live. Additional information is available on UHD's Commencement site.

A complete schedule of events is as follows:

UHD 63rd Commencement at Minute Maid Park

8:30 a.m. - Doors open for guests and family

8:30 a.m. - Check-in for graduates in the Atrium

10:15 a.m. - Procession begins

11:00 a.m. - Ceremony begins

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UHD Marilyn Davies College of Business - Ceremony 1

8:30 a.m. - Doors open for guests and family

8:30 a.m. - Check-in for graduates (please arrive no later than 9:20 a.m.)

9:45 a.m. - Procession begins

10:00 a.m. - Ceremony begins

UHD Marilyn Davies College of Business - Ceremony 2

1:30 p.m. - Doors open for guests and family

1:30 p.m. - Check-in for graduates (please arrive no later than 2:20 p.m.)

2:45 p.m. - Procession begins

3:00 p.m. - Ceremony begins