The legions of men and women who have graduated from IU since 1830’s inaugural class will welcome several thousand new members this weekend. As students of all majors and walks of life prepare for the next step, several IU figures ranging from professors to peers offer advice for life’s next chapter.
What you need to know for commencement weekend
This year’s Commencement ceremonies, rich in tradition and pageantry, will take place in three sessions at Assembly Hall.
The Graduate Commencement Ceremony will last from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday.
New York Times columnist David Brooks will be the Commencement speaker. He will address attendees at 3 p.m. The Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony will take place over the course of a morning and afternoon session Saturday. The first session goes from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., the second goes from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Alecia DeCoudreaux, president of Mills College in Oakland, California, will speak at both ceremonies.
Saturday undergraduate commencement ceremony schedule
Morning session
8 a.m.
Assembly Hall doors open
IU Kelley School of Business graduates are to line up at Cook Hall
All other schools are to line up at Gladstein Fieldhouse
8:45 a.m.
Procession into Assembly Hall begins
10 a.m.
Ceremony begins
Afternoon session
1 p.m.
Assembly Hall doors open
Graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences whose last names start with
A-N are to line up at Gladstein Fieldhouse
O-Z are to line up at Cook Hall
1:45 p.m.
Procession into Assembly Hall begins
3 p.m.
Ceremony begins
All Commencement ceremonies will be broadcast live via video streaming at broadcast.iu.edu.
The College of Arts and Sciences will be the only school participating in the afternoon session.
Schools participating in the morning session include:
IU Kelley School of Business
IU Jacobs School of Music
School of Education
School of Informatics and Computing
School of Journalism
School of Nursing
School of Optometry
School of Public and Environmental Affairs
School of Public Health (formerly Health, Physical education, and Recreation)
School of Social Work
Parking at assembly hall
Gate 4 All guests may use Gate 4, however, there is access for those going to the North Door to drop off guests who have accessibility needs or limited mobility
Gates 2, 5, 6 and 8 All guests
Gate 12 Graduates unaccompanied by friends or family
Gate 13 Wheelchair users only
All parking at Assembly Hall is free on Commencement day.
Traffic
Fairly normal traffic flow
Heavier than normal traffic on the north side of campus, north of 17th street
Sources: Office of University Ceremonies and IU Parking Operations
Words of advice
“The best career advice I ever received may sound basic, but it has guided me through my professional life. It was given to me by Gerry Bepko when he was the Dean of what is now the IU McKinney School of Law and I was a third year law student getting ready to graduate. He told me that when deciding among career options, always choose the one that will create more opportunities down the road. I have taken that advice in accepting roles I had never done before and wasn’t particularly sure I was even qualified to do, and it has helped provide me with a varied and rewarding work life."
– Fred Glass, Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
“1) Stay connected with your alma mater through the Indiana University Alumni Association. It’s important that we know how to contact you in order to provide you with the latest updates and information on the exciting things happening at this great university. Let us continue to make you proud!
2) If you have the opportunity — through your job or vacations or otherwise — to travel outside the United States, take advantage of these opportunities to see the world, learn about different cultures and ways of life. This is an ever-increasing global society, and the opportunity for all of us to learn from cultures, philosophies, dogmas and ways of life outside our own country is one of life’s great learning experiences. Mark Twain once said, “nothing so liberalizes a person and expands the kindly instincts that nature put in us as travel and contact with many kinds of people.”
3) Take risks, be it through your job, a new city to live in, new friends to make, different countries to visit, take on new challenges and opportunities. We continue to grow when we continue to learn.
4) Be happy! Life brings us many curveballs and challenges, and the road is never easy. But through it all, maintain your sense of humor and a bright outlook on life.”
– Thomas E. Recker, Assistant Dean for Advancement, IU College of Arts and Sciences
“Cook from scratch as often as you can, try to make your gifts and accomplishments work for the betterment of others, do your part to take care of the earth for future generations, don’t take yourself too seriously. From the vantage point of one who has lived a few decades longer than most of you, these are the things that I have found contribute to a more satisfying life. Best of luck to you."
– Nancy Stockton, Ph.D. Director of IU Health Center’s Counseling and Psychological Services
“It is possible to make the most of every opportunity. It’s really important to use anything that comes your way because you will grow and learn from it. It is so fundamentally important to stand up for your beliefs and to not become complacent, to always be seeking to test the status quo and really make sure that you are fundamentally being true to yourself.”
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IU figures offer advice to graduates
