When 29-year-old Frances Whiteley of Boulder receives her bachelor聮s degree at the University of Colorado聮s winter commencement Dec. 20, she聮ll be continuing a tradition in her family that dates back to the earliest years of the university.
Frances聮 great-uncle Richard Henry Whiteley, Jr., was a member of CU聮s first graduating class, the Class of 1882, which had six graduates.
Four years later, in 1886, her great-aunt Helen Florence 聯Ella聰 Tyler, became the first woman to graduate from CU.
Frances聮 other great-aunts, Margaret Hortense Whiteley and Zena Agar Whiteley, also received bachelor聮s degrees from CU, in 1891 and 1892 respectively.
Frances will wear Margaret聮s Phi Beta Kappa key along with her own during commencement exercises at the Coors Events/Conference Center on Saturday, Dec. 20. The ceremony starts at 9:30 a.m.
Frances will receive her bachelor of arts degree with distinction, with a double major in humanities and film. She is one of about 1,937 CU-Boulder students receiving degrees at the ceremony.
For more information, call Frances Whiteley at (303) 447-3281, Kay Oltmans at the CU Heritage Center, 492-6329, or Carol Rowe at the Office of Public Relations, 492-3113.