HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (December 5, 2011)- Robert A. Altenkirch, the sixth president of The University of Alabama in Huntsville, will give the keynote address during the fall commencement ceremony on Friday, December 9, at 7:30 p.m., in Spragins Hall. UAH will confer 863 degrees during the ceremonies. The university will award 585 bachelor's degrees, 240 master's degrees, and 38 Ph.D. and DNP degrees. During the ceremonies on Friday night, Ph.D.'s, DNP's and masters' degrees will be presented. Undergraduate degrees will be conferred during two Saturday ceremonies. At 10 a.m., the colleges of Liberal Arts, Nursing and Science will award bachelor's degrees, and, at 1:30 p.m., the colleges of Business Administration and Engineering will confer bachelor's degrees. Robert A. Altenkirch assumed the duties of the president of UAH on October 31. Prior to this appointment, he served as president of New Jersey Institute of Technology for nine years. Dr. Altenkirch earned his B.S. from Purdue University, an M.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, and his PhD. from Purdue, all in mechanical engineering. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and has an extensive record of economic development and public service. Previously, Dr. Altenkirch was vice president for research at Mississippi State University (MSU) from 1998 to 2002. He also served as Dean of the College of Engineering at MSU (1988-1995). Additionally, Dr. Altenkirch served as faculty member and department chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Kentucky (1975-1988). He and his wife Beth have two adult children, Allison and Erich. For more informationJoyce Anderson-Maples(256) 824-2101maplesj@uah.edu