EUGENE, Ore. -- (June 10, 2013) -- The University of Oregon will celebrate more than 5,000 eligible graduates in commencement exercises on Monday, June 17.
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 2013 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. near Johnson Hall 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.
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 and the College of Education 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 and keynote remarks from Tiana Tozer, a University of Oregon graduate who was injured in a car accident involving a drunk driver during her sophomore year. She went on to become a Paralympian basketball player and a humanitarian aid worker in Sudan and Iraq.
A live stream of commencement will be available.
Following the University Graduation Celebration, schools, colleges and departments will hold individual ceremonies at either noon or 3 p.m. in various locations on campus. For specific locations please visit the schedule of events. In total, 5,121 students are eligible to receive 5,290 degrees. Additional fact sheet details are available here.
Between ceremonies, graduates and their guests may visit ongoing Grad Fest events 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 6 p.m. between the Autzen Stadium parking lot and a load/unload spot at Franklin Boulevard and Villard Street outside of Matthew Knight Arena, and at 15th Avenue and University Street. 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 University lots 52, 53 and 54 on the corner of 15th and Walnut Streets two blocks east of UO's main campus. A shuttle service will be available to transport guests to sites on UO's main campus.
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 strategic communications, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu
Link: UO Commencement information, http://commencement.uoregon.edu/
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