Commencement Information

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Commencement Information

Ceremony || Order Of Ceremony || Ceremony Seating || Nutter Center Parking || Parking For Persons With Disabilities / Seating For Disabled Guests || Interpreter Service || Conferral Of Degrees || Caps And Gowns || Latin Honor Students || Honors Program Students || Ph.D. Students || Official Photographer

CEREMONY

Wright State University will confer degrees at the Ervin J. Nutter Center at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 14, 2008. Ceremony participants should arrive at the Nutter Center by 9:00 a.m. and go to the following designated areas for line-up and ceremony procedure instructions. (A Commencement Seating Plan is enclosed showing all areas.) For photographic purposes we have indicated tassel placement for each college below:

McLin Gymnasium, Floor Level School of Graduate Studies (Ed.S. and all Masters)—tassels on right
College of Nursing and Health — tassels on right
College of Education and Human Services — tassels on right

Ph.D. — tassels on left
College of Engineering and Computer Science — tassels on left
College of Liberal Arts — tassels on left

East Concourse, Fourth Level
College of Science and Mathematics — tassels on right
Raj Soin College of Business — tassels on left

Ceremony participants with mobility impairments should contact Jean Denney, Office of Disability Services, (jean.denney@wright.edu or call 937-775-5686) by Monday, June 2, for instructions on line-up procedures. Seating is also available for guests with disability impairments on the floor level as well as the Nutter Center Concourse. Advanced reservations for this seating are not required. For further information you should contact Chris Bethel (937-775-4724) at the Nutter Center.

In consideration of others, please do not bring with you items which would block others' view or interfere with the ceremony. Also, out of respect to our ceremony participants, we ask that all ceremony participants and their families remain throughout the ceremony. Please note: once the ceremony begins there will be no access to the arena floor.

ORDER OF CEREMONY

The order of the ceremony is as follows: Processional, Welcoming Remarks, Commencement Address, Presentation of Honorary Degree, Conferral of Degrees and Distribution of Diplomas (by college/school), Presentation of Ceremony participants, Closing Remarks, and Recessional. It is expected that the ceremony will last just over two hours.

CEREMONY SEATING

I am very happy to let you know that we will not require tickets for this ceremony! However, we do expect to achieve full capacity seating in the Nutter Center arena. With this in mind, I ask that you limit your total number of guests to not more than eight persons. This request is necessary to avoid exceeding the seating capacity. To ensure that all persons have an opportunity to sit where they prefer, seats may not be saved for family and friends who have not yet arrived.

NUTTER CENTER PARKING

Ceremony participants are requested to arrive at the Nutter Center by 9:00 a.m. Guests may also wish to arrive early as it may take up to 15 minutes to reach the building from some parking areas.

Security is not provided in the line-up areas during the ceremony. Please do not bring belongings into the building with you that you are not able to carry on your person as they will not be secure. All valuables should be locked in the trunk of your car.

PARKING FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES / SEATING FOR DISABLED GUESTS

Parking Lot 9 is reserved for ceremony participants and guests with mobility impairments. Please enter the Nutter Center through Gate 9 to access this area.

Seating for guests with mobility impairments, and up to two members of their party, is available on the floor. Additional seating is also available in Sections 204, 205, 206, 207, 218, 219, 220, 221, and 222 for guests with mobility impairments. Nutter Center staff members are on hand to assist guests with mobility impairments to the proper seating areas. For further questions, please contact Chris Bethel (937-775-4724) at the Nutter Center.

INTERPRETER SERVICE

Interpreter service for persons with hearing impairments will be available in Section 204.

CONFERRAL OF DEGREES

The purpose of a commencement ceremony is the formal conferral of degrees and an opportunity for the university to publicly acknowledge its candidates for graduation. Since our commencement ceremony immediately follows final exams, we are not able to certify the completion of requirements prior to the ceremony. Therefore, Wright State University does not distribute diplomas at its commencement. Instead, each June participant will receive a diploma cover with a facsimile diploma. March participants will receive a congratulatory letter. All participants will proceed forward to receive an award and be photographed with the dean as their names are read.

Official diplomas and transcripts will be mailed to all ceremony participants about four to six weeks following the end of the quarter. Ceremony participants may also arrange to pick up their diplomas at the Office of the Registrar by calling 937-775-5588. Note: if your address has changed or will change immediately after graduation, be sure to update this on Wings Express.

CAPS AND GOWNS

Keepsake caps and gowns will be available in the Bookstore through June 13. To ensure availability and correct fit, we encourage you to purchase yours early. The gowns are black for graduates and green for undergraduates.

LATIN HONOR STUDENTS

Students receiving a Bachelor’s degree who are eligible to receive Latin honors based on their grade point average (see undergraduate catalog) will receive a white honor cord. Cords are now available in the Student Union & Event Services office, Room 186 in the Student Union.

HONORS PROGRAM STUDENTS

Students who have completed one of the curricular tracks in the University Honors Program will receive an honors medallion. Please contact the Honors Office for more information (937-775-2660).

PH.D. STUDENTS

All Ph.D. students will receive a separate mailing with additional details on the hooding process. Please call the Student Union & Event Services office (937-775-5512) if you do not receive this information by June 4. Meantime, please remember to bring your ironed hood to the stage upon your arrival. Of course, if you were a March graduate, don’t forget your diploma.

OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER

For your convenience, arrangements have been made with Chappell Graduation Images for a professional photographer to record you shaking hands with your dean. Prior to the ceremony, the photographer will also be set up in each line-up area for portrait photo opportunities. (Just a reminder: once the ceremony begins, access to the arena floor will not be permitted.)

Approximately one week after the ceremony, you will receive a passport-sized, full-color proof of your official photograph in the mail. There is no obligation to purchase, and you will have the option of ordering several enlargement packages at very reasonable prices. The official photographer is: