The university will monitor the weather closely and will make a decision by 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 12, as to the site of the Commencement ceremony. If the sun is shining, note that there is not much shade on Main Lawn. If the weather forecast is for “occasional showers,” the ceremony will be held outdoors. Please plan accordingly.

If it begins to storm during the ceremony, listen carefully for instructions from the platform. Shattuck Music Center and the Campus Center will be shelters from the rain.

If the ceremony must be held indoors, the alternate location is Van Male Field House. Notices will be posted in the Campus Center, Shattuck Music Center and Van Male Field House, and an announcement will be made at Baccalaureate. Doors open at noon and tickets are required for admission (each graduate will receive up to four guest tickets).

Seating is reserved for graduates, faculty, honored guests and those with disabilities by request. Able-bodied guests are requested to sit in the bleachers so main floor seating can be used for those guests who might have difficulty with bleacher seating. All guests are requested to fill in rows to accommodate as many guests as possible. Baby strollers, car seats and carriers take up too much room, and should be left behind.

For guests without tickets, live, large screen viewing of the Commencement Ceremony is available in Shattuck Music Center. Graduates will line up for the ceremony there, so guests are asked to wait in the lobby or proceed to the balcony until graduates have exited the auditorium. They may then be seated where they choose.