First-Class Comets

In May 1973, UT Dallas held its inaugural graduation ceremony. The first graduates, all PhDs, were Susan Seabury Mahlum in biology, pictured shaking hands with Dr. Bryce Jordan, the first president of UT Dallas, and Ronald Allan Hawkins and Wang-Kong Lam in physics. Fast-forward to May 2022 — UT Dallas held a total of 13 commencement ceremonies with more than 4,100 students earning their degrees.