More than 100 elected officials, business executives, journalists and other notables were nominated for consideration because of their demonstrated leadership and contributions to the enrichment and overall growth of Hispanics in Central Florida. The quarterly magazine is published by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando.

Fernández moved with his family from Cuba to the United States when he was 12, and is now the highest ranking Hispanic administrator at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. He is responsible for the administrative oversight of the college, building new college policies and developing new programs of excellence.

He earned a doctorate at Florida State University in 1973 and came to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ as a visiting Spanish-language professor in 1981. He was chairman of the Foreign Language and Literature Department before he was named dean.

In addition to winning the Pegasus Professor Award, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s highest honor for teaching, research and service, Fernández has written dozens of books both in English and Spanish. In 2008, President George W. Bush appointed him to the National Museum of the American Latino Commission.

In an article about him in the magazine, Fernandez compares himself to “the first Hispanic explorers visiting the New World.�

Other university-related recipients named to the magazine’s top-25 list were: Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ alumnus Tico Perez, a member of the Board of Governors of the State University System, and Conrad Santiago, a former Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Board of Trustees member.

Perez, a son of Cuban immigrants, is co-founder of Edge Public Affairs and serves as national commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America.

Santiago, managing director of Conrad Santiago & Associates/Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., was a founding member and the first president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer will be the guest speaker. An Orlando native, Dyer has served as the city’s mayor since 2003. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Brown University and received a law degree from the University of Florida.

Friday’s 9 a.m. ceremony will include students from the College of Arts and Humanities, the College of Health and Public Affairs, the College of Nursing, and Liberal Studies and Social Science majors through the Undergraduate Studies and Graduate Studies offices.

The speaker will be Tico Perez, co-founder of Edge Public Affairs and a member of the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees Florida’s state universities. He received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ in 1983 and was student body president. He went on to earn a law degree from Georgetown University.

Graduates in Friday’s 2:30 p.m. ceremony will be from the College of Education, the Rosen College of Hospitality Management and the College of Sciences.

The speaker will be Dede Schaffner, who is serving her third term as a member of the Seminole County School Board. As a parent volunteer, Schaffner founded Seminole County schools’ nationally recognized Dividends School Volunteer Program. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½.

The Arena doors will open to guests 1 1/2 hours before the start of each ceremony. The procession of graduates will begin 20 minutes before the start of each ceremony. 

Guests must have tickets to attend the ceremonies. Guests without tickets are welcome to view closed-circuit telecasts of the ceremonies from the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center across the street from the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Arena. Broadcasts also will be posted after the ceremonies at .

The anticipated graduates include 3,712 who filed intents to receive bachelor’s degrees, 810 for master’s degrees, four for education specialist degrees and 65 for doctoral degrees.

With this week’s graduations, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ will have awarded more than 225,000 degrees since classes began in 1968. 

For more information, visit the commencement .