NORMAN – The pageantry and pomp of herald trumpets and the Kiowa Black Leggings Society as well as the Bagpipes and Drums of the Highlanders will usher in the University of Oklahoma’s 2015 Commencement ceremony, to be held at 7 p.m. Friday, May 8, at The Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Elizabeth Garrett, an OU graduate who will become the first woman president of Cornell University, a prestigious American Ivy League school, on July 1, will be OU’s 2015 Commencement speaker.
The processional of the president’s platform party, faculty and graduates to the stadium will begin at 7 p.m. Friday along the Brooks Mall area, located north of the stadium. During the pre-Commencement concert, beginning at 6:15 p.m., family and friends of graduates can view a presentation on SoonerVision of photos of OU’s graduating class members who have had their photos taken for the Sooner yearbook.
Music will be provided by the University Commencement Choir. International and Native American flags representing OU’s international and Native American students and faculty will be displayed during the ceremony.
The Commencement ceremony will feature the official conferring of degrees by OU President David L. Boren. During Commencement, OU expects to confer degrees to more than 7,280 students who completed their coursework in the spring, as well as summer and December 2014 graduates. May 2015 candidates include approximately 2,695 bachelor’s degrees, 917 master’s degrees, 114 doctoral degrees and 680 professional degrees. Also eligible to participate in the Commencement ceremony are 2,881 students who graduated in summer or December 2014. The ceremony will be capped off with a gigantic fireworks display as a salute to the Classes of 2014 and 2015.
Stadium gates will open at 5:30 p.m., and guests are asked to enter the stadium through gates 1, 6, 7, 11 and 12. Gate 9 is the preferred Special Services entrance for guests with limited mobility or disabilities. To obtain Special Services parking and seating passes, please contact the Graduation Office at (405) 325-0841.
Parking will be available at Lloyd Noble Center, and free shuttle service will run continuously from 5 p.m. until the last shuttle leaves from the stadium at 11 p.m. for those attending Commencement.
Further information on Commencement and a complete schedule of college convocations are posted to the university’s Commencement website at ou.edu/commencement.
For additional information on Commencement, please contact the Graduation Office at (405) 325-0841 or visit ou.edu/commencement.
