UH Hilo 2024 Spring Commencement is May 11

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo celebrates its 2024 Spring Commencement Saturday, May 11, beginning at 9 a.m. at Edith Kanaka`ole Stadium. The ceremony is limited to invited guests and not open to the public. The ceremony may be viewed via livestream at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6AQzSANH3o.

Approximately 500 students have petitioned for degrees and/or certificates and for various post-graduate credentials representing the College of Arts and Sciences, Ka Haka `Ula O Ke`elikolani College of Hawaiian Language, College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management, College of Natural and Health Sciences, College of Business and Economics, and Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy.

Terrance Jalbert, Ph.D., professor of finance at UH Hilo, provides the keynote address.

Jalbert has taught at UH Hilo since 1996. He also briefly taught for the Naval Postgraduate School. Prior to his time in academics, he worked in the agriculture and oil industries.

Jalbert was awarded the 2000 Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching. He teaches courses in personal finance, corporate finance, investment management, options and futures. He especially enjoys engaging students in stock market simulations and assisting them with financial plans for prospective businesses. He is also known for telling jokes.

Jalbert is the author of 90 journal articles, including 13 manuscripts in journals rated A or A- by at least one rating organization. Social Science Research Network ranks him among the top one percent of all academics, all time, for research impact. His research includes nine articles co-authored with UH Hilo students. His recent research includes developing new stock indexes that incorporate both stock value changes and currency value changes. Other research documents and quantifies an April 2024 effect in stock returns.

Jalbert serves as an arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) where he adjudicates disputes between stockbrokers and their clients. He has also served as Editor in Chief for several journals. He regularly keeps score for the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival.

He earned A.A. and B.S. degrees from Dickinson State University, an MBA from North Dakota State University, and a Ph.D. in Finance from Texas Tech University.

David Mayser, a student-athlete graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, is student speaker.

Originally from Munich, Germany, Mayser moved to Hilo in 2000 to pursue his academic and athletic careers. He was a member of the Vulcan Men’s Soccer Team from Fall 2020 for four years. Throughout his time at UH Hilo, he was the student-athlete representative for the PacWest Conference on the National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a member of the UH Hilo Student Advisory Board.

Mayser said the environment at UH Hilo helped him to grow academically and personally. Following graduation, he plans to pursue an MA in communication studies while also serving as a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Communication at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The ceremony will be recorded and available for viewing at: https://hilo.hawaii.edu/commencement/.