​James Kurth, a 1978 alumnus of UW-Stevens Point and chief
of the National Wildlife Refuge System, will speak at the May 19
graduation ceremonies.
5/4/2012
 

Head of National Wildlife Refuge System to address UW-Stevens Point graduates 

An alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point who heads the National Wildlife Refuge System will address graduates of his alma mater and their families at the spring commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 19.

James Kurth, a 1978 alumnus, will speak to about 1,300 graduates in four colleges at UW-Stevens Point who have earned associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and clinical doctorates in audiology. The ceremonies will be held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the UW-Stevens Point Health Enhancement Center. 

Chancellor Bernie Patterson will preside over the ceremonies and give the welcome and charge to the graduates. He will be assisted by Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Greg Summers and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Al Thompson. The student speakers will be Qianwei Ren Knauf, a chemistry major from Loudi, China, at 10 a.m. and Catherine Kapral, an English education major from Ripon, at 2 p.m. New alumni will be welcomed by UW-Stevens Point Alumni Association Board of Directors President Ray Oswald.

The commencement program will also include senior Kristin Malnory of Stevens Point singing the National Anthem and senior Melissa Pfluger of Green Bay singing the Alma Mater. Both will be accompanied by the UW-Stevens Point Concert Band and Wind Ensemble, directed by Brendan Caldwell of the Music Department.

Faculty members Dennis Yockers, natural resources, and Pat Kluetz, interior architecture, will serve as the grand marshals; Karen Biasca and Don Guay of paper science and engineering, Diana Black, art and design, and David Hastings, music, will assist as announcers and name readers.

As chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS), Kurth manages more than 150 million acres and 555 units of the world’s premier system of public lands and waters with the goal of conserving America’s fish, wildlife and plants. He has worked for the NWRS since 1979 and served as deputy chief from 1999 until 2011. Before becoming the deputy chief, Kurth managed the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alaska, the largest refuge in the U.S. at 20 million acres. 

“I have had the chance in my career to work in the field from the Everglades to the Arctic and it has been a great adventure,” said Kurth. “But the best thing about my job is seeing the incredible conservation work by fish and wildlife colleagues do and discovering that many of them are UW-Stevens Point alumni.”