IBM Exec to Speak at 2006 Midyear Commencement

Michigan Tech will recognize the achievements of nearly 400 graduates at Midyear Commencement on Saturday, Dec. 16. A total of seven associate degrees and 273 bachelor's degrees will be awarded. In addition, 89 master's degree recipients and 23 PhD graduates will be honored, and five cadets from Michigan Tech's Air Force and Army ROTC programs will be commissioned as second lieutenants.

The commencement speaker will be John A. Soyring, vice president of solutions and software at IBM Corporation. A native of Marquette, he joined IBM after graduating in 1976 from Michigan Tech with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.

Soyring has held a variety of positions during his long career with IBM. He was previously vice president and senior executive for IBM software services and support, a global business unit delivering professional services for IBM's clients and business partners.

In his current position, he provides global business leadership for a multi-billion-dollar portion of the IBM software business.

Soyring is a member of Michigan Tech's Electrical and Computer Engineering Academy and the College of Engineering Industrial Advisory Board. While a student, he was a resident assistant for two years, a member of Eta Kappa Nu, the electrical engineering honor society, and was recognized as a student leader by the Scott Paper Company Foundation. He has also completed graduate studies in computer science, electrical engineering and business administration at the University of Minnesota and the State University of New York.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.