OU to honor graduates at spring commencement

Oakland University will recognize its spring 2013 graduates at several commencement ceremonies.

The commencement ceremony for all doctoral and master's degree candidates will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 26. Commencement ceremonies for eligible undergraduates will be held Saturday, April 27. All ceremonies take place in the Athletic O’rena. 

The undergraduate ceremony schedule is as follows:

9:00 a.m. – School of Health Sciences and School of Nursing

12:30 p.m. – School of Business Administration
School of Education and Human Services
School of Engineering and Computer Sciences
Bachelor of Integrative Studies

4:00 p.m. – College of Arts and Sciences

Guest speakers for the Saturday ceremonies include Baroness Caroline Cox at the 9 a.m. and Senator Debbie Stabenow at the 12:30 p.m. Graduating Oakland student Michael Joseph Meyer will speak at the 4 p.m. ceremony. The speaker for the 7 p.m. doctoral and master’s ceremony will be Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.

The O’rena doors will open one hour before each ceremony. All guests must have tickets and should be seated 10 minutes prior to the processional. Each ceremony lasts approximately one and a half  to two hours. Graduates are asked to stay for the entire ceremony and will be directed by a marshal to exit the O’rena. 

Family and friends who are unable to attend the commencement will be able to view the ceremonies on the commencement website as they occur. A link will be posted to the page on graduation day. Videos of the ceremonies will also be available to view on the commencement website after the ceremony. 

All students and guests attending the undergraduate ceremonies should review the spring commencement parking map. Those attending the graduate ceremony  have no specific parking requirements and can view oakland.edu/map for more information. Parking is free and open to the public, except where indicated. Police officers and parking attendants will be on hand to direct traffic. All event parking is located within a 5-minute walk to the O'rena, and buses, motor coaches and vans will be making stops in all lots to shuttle those who prefer to ride.

An American Sign Language interpreter will be present at each ceremony to aid the hearing impaired. Wheelchair accessible seating is available for guests and a handicap accessible parking lot is located next to the O’rena in P16.

In case of inclement weather, information on cancellation of ceremonies is available by calling the university at (248) 370-2000, tuning in to WJR or WWJ radio, or watching FOX2, WDIV-TV or WXYZ-TV.

For additional commencement information, call (248) 370-2190 or view the commencement website at oakland.edu/commencement. Watch a live stream during the ceremonies at oakland.edu/outv/commencement. 

Oakland University is a vibrant academic community with nearly 20,000 students and more than 265 academic degree programs. To learn more about programs, events, and achievements at OU, visit the news site at oakland.edu/newsatou and follow the news team on Twitter at @OaklandU_News.