Graduate Instructions for Commencement – May 20, 2017

The Commencement ceremony for the Class of 2017 is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, at Matthew Knight Arena, 1390 Villard Street on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon. The ceremony should conclude by 3:00 p.m. A reception in your honor will be held at Matthew Knight Arena immediately following the ceremony in the south practice courts.

Although the event is ticketed, seating for Commencement is open, except for those graduates who have requested guest accommodated seating. As a reminder, there is no charge for your guests to attend the Commencement ceremony or reception. If you need additional tickets, please direct your guests to the Matthew Knight Arena box office, where each person may request up to 4 tickets. A limited number of tickets are still available.

Once you arrive, there will be no opportunity to leave the Arena for food until after the ceremony has concluded. You are therefore encouraged to bring snacks with you when you arrive for robing. Water will be available in the robing room.

Please note the following important times:

PRE-CEREMONY:
11:00 a.m. Graduates arrive promptly at the Arena and enter through the North Entrance. Please check the Commencement website for parking information. You will need to check in at the desk at the North Entrance as you arrive. Your guests will not be permitted to enter through the North Entrance. Kindly direct them to the East Entrance (all entrances are marked). At check-in, you will be directed to the MacArthur Club of the Arena for robing. Volunteers will be available to assist you. Once graduates are robed, there are several tasks we will need to accomplish in a relatively short period of time.

11:35 a.m. Graduates will go upstairs to the court for a class photo. If you are not robed and in line by 11:30 am, you will not be included in the class photo. Class pictures will be taken for both the LLM and JD classes. After the photo, you will return to the MacArthur Club.

12:00 p.m. Graduates are seated alphabetically in the MacArthur Club (Name cards will be on seats). You will be seated in the same order in which you will be seated during the Commencement ceremony. The Commencement Marshal, Professor Girvan, will work with you to verify the correct pronunciation of your names. The names of graduates not in attendance will not be called during the ceremony.

12:40 p.m. Final processional instructions. In order to present a professional and polished event fitting of your accomplishments, we ask there be no cell phones on stage. Plan to leave your cell phones, purses, jackets, etc. in the MacArthur Club, which will be locked during the ceremony.

12:55 p.m. The Marshal and Registrar Elaine Seyman will lead you (in the same order in which you will be seated during Commencement) from the MacArthur Club into the Arena.

1:00 p.m. When the processional music begins graduates will proceed down the aisle toward the stage. You will be seated on stage. Those students with a speaking role will be seated in the front row along with the Dean, the Provost, Erik Girvan, Kristie Gibson, John Inglish and LLM graduates. Name cards will be placed on the seats of those sitting in the front row. Please note that once we head on stage, it will not be possible for you to leave until the ceremony ends. No cell phones on stage, please.

All other graduates will be seated in alphabetical order. It is imperative to not leave empty chairs on stage or it will be impossible to seat all graduates. Remain standing until Dean Moffitt welcomes everyone and asks you to be seated.

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AWARDING OF DEGREES: You will be asked to stand as University Provost Scott Coltrane confers your degrees.

Dean Moffitt will then ask all graduates to be seated except LLM graduates, whose degrees will be conferred first, followed by JD degrees. If you are a graduate with a speaking role, please pay attention to the alphabet and prepare to join your peers so that your name can be called in alphabetical order. When your name is called, cross the stage, shake the Provost’s hand, shake the Dean’s hand, and take a tube from the Registrar. If you are a CRES/JD student, you will also shake with John Inglish or Liz Tippett. If you are an LLM student, you will also shake with Kristie Gibson.

When you shake hands with the Dean/John Inglish/Kristie Gibson, kindly face the audience for a quick handshake photo. As the aisle clears, a volunteer will cue the next row of graduates to stand. Please remain seated except when your row is signaled to stand.

If a graduate’s name is inadvertently not called, please step to the side of the stage and give the designated volunteer your name. The volunteer will inform the Marshal who will then call the omitted name.

Once all graduates have crossed the stage, the Marshal will address the students. Dean Moffitt will then adjourn the gathering.

A recessional will be played as the graduates exit the arena, followed by the faculty. Graduates should exit the stage row by row. You can then return your robe to the MacArthur Club and head to the reception in the south practice courts. Volunteers and signage will guide you there. Beverages and light hors d’oeuvres will be served. Beer and wine will be available for purchase.

Regalia Return: Please return robes to the MacArthur Club after the ceremony and before heading to the reception.

Questions? Please contact Amy Greer at 541.346.1553 or or me at 541.346.3896 or .

CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES! We look forward to having you as colleagues and learning of your future successes!