Law School Graduation COMMENCEMENT 2014 INFORMATION Monday, May 19 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Caps and gowns will be distributed in the interview rooms on the ground level from 12 noon until 7 p.m. The deadline to purchase tickets for the Class of 2014 Celebration is 6 p.m. Thursday, May 22 Institutes and Special Programs Certificate Ceremony 2 p.m., Byron Auditorium, Law School A certificate presentation ceremony for students in the Communications Law Institute, the Comparative and International Law Institute, the Law and Public Policy Program, the Securities Law Program and Jurisprudence Studies will take place at 2 p.m., with a reception to follow. For further information, please call the Office of Institutes and Special Programs (319-6081). Mass of Thanksgiving 4:30 p.m., St. Vincent s Chapel, John McCormack Road Our Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated for the graduates at 4:30 p.m. at St. Vincent s Chapel. All graduates are invited to attend with family and friends. Academic apparel should not be worn to the Mass, and graduates should sit with their families. Please contact the Office of Student Life and Special Events no later than May 12 if you have a relative who is a Roman Catholic priest who would like to concelebrate the Mass. Class of 2014 Celebration Details and Ticketing Information to be announced soon! Friday, May 23 Distribution of Caps and Gowns 8-9:45 a.m., Interview Rooms adjacent to OCPD, Ground Level CCLS Robing Breakfast for Clinic Graduates 8-9:15 a.m., Clinic Suite, Ground Level For more information, contact Alvita Barrow at Eason@law.edu. Commencement Ceremony 11 a.m., Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Seating for guests attending the law school commencement will begin after 9:30 a.m. The academic procession will enter the Shrine at 10:50 a.m. GENERAL INFORMATION Attendance All graduates are required to attend the ceremony. If you cannot attend, you are required to write a letter to the University Provost, Dr. James F. Brennan, requesting permission to be excused. The letter should indicate the address to which the University Registrar should mail your diploma, and should be sent to Dr. Brennan at 105 McMahon Hall, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064. Please send a copy of this letter to Stuart Schept, Registrar, Suite 343, Law School. Graduates should return the 2014 Commencement Questionnaire to the Office of Student Life and Special Events no later than May 12. Please indicate the number of guests attending each graduation-related event. Forms can be also faxed (202-319-4470) or sent via email to Kingra@law.edu. Caps & Gowns All graduates are required, according to University policy, to attend the ceremony and wear academic regalia. Graduating students who are members of the United States Armed Services are allowed to wear dress uniform in lieu of academic apparel. If you have not yet ordered your cap & gown, contact the Office of Student Life and Special Events at (202) 319-6126 immediately. Cap and gown distribution will be in the interview rooms adjacent to the Office of Career and Professional Development on the ground floor on Monday, May 19, from 12 noon until 7 p.m. and again on commencement day, from 8 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. Ceremony The graduates' procession will enter the church at 10:50 a.m., with the ceremony beginning promptly at 11 a.m. The commencement exercises will last approximately one and one-half hours. Special Needs Seating We will reserve seats for guests with disabilities. All special needs tickets must be reserved through the Office of Student Life and Special Events. The tickets can be picked up from Suite 341; or if you prefer, we can mail them to your home. If you have any questions or concerns about disability seating or other accommodations, please call us at (202) 319-6126, or email Rachel Porter at kingra@law.edu. The wheelchair entrance to the Shrine is located at the front of the Shrine. Guests
The number of guests that you may invite to the ceremony is unlimited. Although there will be room for all guests of law school graduates at the ceremony, we urge you to have your family arrive early at the Shrine. We will begin seating guests no earlier than 9:30 a.m. Please Note: We understand that there will always be a need to save a seat for a mother, father or brother who dropped the family off and will return after parking the car. Our ushers will allow one or two seats to be held for this purpose, but holding a row will not be permitted. Parking and Shuttle Bus Service Parking will be available in the university garage adjacent to the law school on Thursday for the Institutes ceremony and Mass at St. Vincent s Chapel. On Friday, parking will be available in the garage, the university parking lots adjacent to the Shrine and the Shrine parking lot on Harewood Road and Michigan Avenue. Shuttle buses will run from the front entrance of the law school to and from the Shrine before and after Commencement for those who wish to park in the law school garage. Pictures: Class Photo, Individual Pictures and Video Panoramic Visions is a local photography company which specializes in large group events. Order forms for purchasing the class photo and commencement video can be downloaded from the links above, along with instructions on how to order photographs of graduates receiving diplomas. Panoramic Visions will also be available to take formal photographs in Room 311 on Thursday, May 22 and Friday, May 23. Check the flier for specific times. Forms can either be turned into the Office of Student Life and Special Events any time before May 23 or mailed directly to Panoramic Visions Photography. Webcast The commencement ceremony will be Webcast and will be available for viewing online after 6 p.m. on Friday, May 23. There will be a link on our Web page www.law.edu. The program will be available online through early August.
COMMENCEMENT DAY INFORMATION FOR GRADUATES Pre-Ceremony Organization On graduation day, graduates should report to the Byron Auditorium at 9:30 a.m., wearing your gown, tam and hood. We ask that you stay in the auditorium until instructed to leave and remain with the class from this point until the end of the commencement ceremony. You will wear your hood for the class photo, but then take it off and carry it over your right arm during the procession to the Shrine. Name Cards / Order of Procession Members of the administrative staff will be in the Byron Auditorium distributing name cards and giving you final instructions for the photograph assembly and procession. The name card is important. Please do not lose it. During the commencement ceremony, you will give the card to the Faculty Marshal, who will be at the podium to read the graduates names during the ceremony. Once you have your name card, you should wait in the auditorium until you are instructed to go outside for the class photo. After the photograph has been taken, we will ask you to assemble in alphabetical lines behind appropriately marked signs at the back of the Pryzbyla Center. Inclement Weather In case of inclement weather, graduates should report to the Byron Auditorium as directed above to receive name cards and be in the class photograph which will be taken in the Atrium. In case of rain, there will be no procession from the law school to the Shrine. Following the photo session in the atrium, graduates will be sent directly to Memorial Hall (in the lower level of the Shrine) to line up for the procession. Panoramic Class Picture Following instructions in the auditorium, the graduates will be directed to the back lawn for the class photograph. Please listen carefully to the photographer s instructions. We have only about 30 minutes to have the class picture taken and reassemble for the procession. Marching to the Shrine After the picture has been taken, please be alert and follow directions to line up behind the Pryzbyla Center for the academic procession. Once the alphabetical line-up is finalized, the procession will walk up the path to McMahon Hall and across the mall, entering the Shrine via the front door. The academic procession will enter the Church at approximately 10:50 a.m. Graduates will be divided alphabetically for the procession and seating in the Shrine: A - J in a single file line on the right, and, K - Z in a single file order on the left. Once the group is lined up alphabetically, we will move the group together so that the procession will be in a double line, with A - J walking on the right and K - Z walking on the left.
The Ceremony The graduates will occupy the front section of the Shrine. Our A - J graduates will sit in the front right section of the Shrine, and the K - Z graduates will sit in the front left section. The faculty and honored guests will be seated on the altar. Please remain standing in your place for the Invocation and the National Anthem. Dean Attridge will then instruct you to be seated. Men should remove their tams during the National Anthem. After short preliminary speeches and the Student and Commencement Addresses, Dean Attridge will ask the graduates to stand. President John Garvey will read the degree conferral and ask you to don your hood before lining up to go to the altar. Ushers will assist graduates in moving up the right stairwell to the main altar. You will present your name card to the Faculty Marshal and proceed to walk across to the center stage where you will first shake hands with President Garvey and then move to Dean Attridge who will present your diploma. You should shake Dean Attridge s hand, taking the diploma with your left hand and pause for a photograph with the Dean and President. AFTER THE CEREMONY Diplomas During the graduation ceremony you will receive a decorative diploma. You should report to the Academic Affairs office in Suite 343 from 1 to 3 p.m. to pick up your official diploma. Cap and Gown Return Please return your academic apparel to the Herff Jones Company representative in the interview rooms. All caps, gowns and hoods must be returned by 3 p.m. The replacement cost of the apparel is approximately $600.00, and you will be billed if the apparel is not returned. Reception Dean Attridge and the faculty will host a reception graduates, families and friends on law school lawn and in the Keelty Atrium immediately following the graduation ceremony. In case of inclement weather, the reception will take place in the Atrium, the Student Lounge and Cafeteria. If you have any questions about the ceremony, or any other graduation-related events, please feel free to call the Office of Student Life and Special Events at 202-319-6126.