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Mining Minds: Special Lighting Commemorates UTEP's Class of 2019

Last Updated on May 13, 2019 at 12:00 AM

Originally published May 13, 2019

By Christina Rodriguez

UTEP Communications

The "Mining Minds" pickaxe sculpture at The University of Texas at El Paso's University Avenue roundabout will be illuminated in blue and orange from Wednesday evening, May 15, through Sunday evening, May 19, to commemorate UTEP's Class of 2019.

The 'Mining Minds' pickaxe sculpture at The University of Texas at El Paso's University Avenue roundabout will be illuminated in blue and orange from Wednesday evening, May 15, through Sunday evening, May 19, to commemorate UTEP's Class of 2019. Photo: UTEP Communications
The "Mining Minds" pickaxe sculpture at The University of Texas at El Paso's University Avenue roundabout will be illuminated in blue and orange from Wednesday evening, May 15, through Sunday evening, May 19, to commemorate UTEP's Class of 2019. Photo: UTEP Communications

Approximately 3,000 graduates and candidates are eligible to receive degrees during four Commencement ceremonies conducted Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19, in the Don Haskins Center. Saturday’s celebrations are at 9 a.m. for the College of Liberal Arts; 2 p.m. for the colleges of Education and Business Administration; and 7 p.m. for the College of Health Sciences and the schools of Nursing and Pharmacy. The colleges of Science and Engineering will celebrate at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The ceremony will include inaugural degrees awarded for programs in the colleges of Science and Health Sciences and final degrees for a program tied to the School of Pharmacy.

The University will award the first three Master of Science in Professional Science degrees. The College of Science launched the program in spring 2017 for students who wanted to blend their science knowledge with another discipline such as health or business. The program is composed of two graduate certificates that take 15 to 18 credit hours each. One must come from the College of Science and the other can come from another UTEP college or other accredited institution.

UTEP’s Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Sciences will graduate its first class of seven students this spring. In total, 23 rehabilitation sciences students, to include 16 summer graduates, will participate in Saturday’s evening ceremony.

The degree, which was approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in February 2017, prepares students for a career in the rehabilitation professions. Graduates can pursue graduate studies in physical therapy, rehabilitation counseling, occupational therapy or speech-language pathology.

This Commencement also marks the last time candidates from the UTEP/UT Austin Cooperative Pharmacy Program will walk across the stage. Six graduates will receive a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Pharmacy.

As part of the six-year cooperative program, students would spend the first two years at UTEP, the next two years at UT Austin, and the final two years at UTEP. The program has awarded 164 Pharm.D. degrees since it began in 1995. About 70% of the program’s graduates have remained in the region to practice professionally. The UTEP School of Pharmacy will graduate its first cohort in 2021.

“Mining Minds” is an iconic piece of public art installed in 2010 to enhance the UTEP campus. At night, orange lights brighten the steel structure while light from LEDs emanate from the perforated “ones” and “zeroes” at each end of the pick.

The University illuminates the pick in blue and orange on special occasions such as historic dates, major annual milestones and celebrations of special accomplishments.

Learn more about "Mining Minds."