EUGENE, Ore. -- (June 4, 2014) -- The University of Oregon will celebrate the graduates who are eligible to participate in commencement exercises on Monday, June 16.
Graduates are encouraged to celebrate along with their families and members of the community in a day filled with activities throughout campus. No tickets will be required at any of the 2014 graduation ceremonies, and graduates may invite as many guests as they choose.
The commencement ceremony will follow the Duck Walk – an academic parade of graduates and faculty/staff in regalia – which will begin at 8:45 a.m. at the corner of 13th Avenue and University Street and proceed along 13th Avenue to the Matthew Knight Arena to the University Graduation Celebration.
Students are encouraged to carry signs, decorate their mortar board cap or wear symbolic family or organizational pieces to celebrate the festive atmosphere and their accomplishments as they enter the arena. In total, 5,153 students are eligible to receive 5,308 degrees. Additional fact sheet details are available here.
Matthew Knight Arena will open at 7:30 a.m. for guest seating and all guests should be seated by 9 a.m. Guests will be able to enter the building through the North and East entrances.
The University Graduation Celebration, scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., as well as the Lundquist College of Business, College of Education and the School of Architecture and Allied Arts ceremonies later in the day, will be held in Matthew Knight Arena and will make full use of the video technology available in that facility. All these ceremonies will feature captioned video feeds for guests with hearing impairments. For guests who wish to make use of American Sign Language interpretation at the University Graduation Celebration, Section 103 (Rows P-V, seats 12-22) is designated as the official seating location.
Accessible seating will be available for guests requiring accommodation at the arena. Additional information is available at the Accessibility and Accommodations page.
The ceremony, presided over by UO President Michael Gottfredson, will include student speakers, video presentations of campus events over the past several years. The commencement keynote speaker is Robert X. Fogarty, a 2005 graduate of the School of Journalism and Communication and founder of Dear World, a portrait project that unites people through pictures in his distinct message-on-skin style.
He has photographed Nobel Peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus, Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon and Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees. In addition, he documents every day heroes and others who have overcome adversity, including residents in tornado-devastated Joplin, Mo. and Syrian refugee camps, and Boston marathon survivors.
During his keynote addresses, Fogarty will share the stories behind his favorite subjects. Often these are people he meets in places like in Joplin or Boston.
A live broadcast of commencement will be available at the UO channel.
Following the University Graduation Celebration, schools, colleges and departments will hold individual ceremonies at noon, 3 p.m. or 6 p.m. in various locations on campus. For specific locations please visit the schedule of events.
Between ceremonies, graduates and their guests may visit ongoing Grad Fest events on 13th Avenue around the Pioneer Statue across from Johnson Hall (see Commencement Map). Grad Fest will include food vendors, dining areas, photo opportunities, Duck Store, student performances and other activities throughout the day. UO museums and academic buildings will also be open for public visits.
Campus is expected to be busy with activities, and parking may be challenging. Free shuttles will run from 7 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. between the Autzen Stadium parking lot and shuttle stops outside of Matthew Knight Arena, and at 15th Avenue and University Street. There will also be a load/unload zone located on Villard Street outside of the East entrance of the arena to drop off guests before parking.
The Lane Transit District bus system is another option to get to campus on graduation day. Faculty and staff are being encouraged to use these services, as well. A link to a commencement map is available on the UO spring commencement website.
Guests with mobility limitations or who require accessible transport should plan to park in the Columbia Garage (under the Ford Alumni Center) on 13th Avenue. Please plan to be parked before 8:30 a.m., as there will be a brief street closure limiting access to the garage during the Duck Walk parade processional. Streets will reopen immediately following the processional.
Please note - Shuttles will be stopped at Autzen Stadium beginning at 8:45 a.m. until the Duck Walk Parade processional has finished. For guests attending the main University Graduation Celebration, we recommend boarding a shuttle before 8:30 a.m. to avoid missing the beginning of the ceremony. Shuttles will resume their routes immediately following the Duck Walk Parade processional.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
Contact: Julie Brown, UO public affairs communications, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu
Link: UO Commencement information, http://commencement.uoregon.edu/
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