UMR will award six honorary professional degrees during its winter commencement Saturday, Dec. 20.

Commencement begins at 11 a.m. in UMR’s Gale Bullman Multi-Purpose Building. About 600 degrees will be awarded.

Connie Hager Silverstein, president of the University of Missouri System Board of Curators, will deliver the commencement address.

The campus will also hold its 2003 Winter Graduation Jubilee from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, in the Miner Lounge and Centennial Hall of University Center-East on campus.

The professional degree recipients include:

—Barbara Busby of St. Louis, vice president of sales at Peabody Energy in St. Louis. She received a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1979 and a master’s degree in management information systems in 1987 from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Ill.

—Ozdogan Yilmaz of Istanbul, Turkey, science advisor to GeoTomo in Houston and founder of Anatolian Geophysical in Istanbul, Turkey. He earned a bachelor’s degree in geology and geophysics from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1970. He also earned his master’s degree in 1972 and a Ph.D. in 1979, both in geophysics, from Stanford University.

—Roger Vessell of San Antonio, Texas, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Columbia 300 Inc. in San Antonio, Texas. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1978.

—Daniel O’Sullivan Jr. of St. Louis, president of The Brick Network, an Internet service provider. He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1982 and a master’s degree in business administration from Washington University in 1988.

—Robert Berry of St. Louis, regional vice president and general manager of Burns & McDonnell in St. Louis. He received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1972 and a master’s degree in engineering management from Boston University in 1975. He also received a master’s degree in environmental health engineering in 1979 and a doctor of engineering degree in 1980, both from the University of Kansas.

—Geoffrey J. Steinhart of St. Louis, vice president of engineering at Anheuser-Busch Inc. He received a bachelor’s degree in engineering management from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1979 and a master’s degree in business administration from Southern Illinois University in 1982.