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Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN chief medical correspondent and U-M alumnus, will address undergraduates in the annual Spring Commencement address at 10 a.m. Saturday in Michigan Stadium.
At the traditional ceremony, the university’s undergraduates will be honored. Honorary degrees also will be presented to J. Ira Harris, alumnus and a leader in the world of finance; Susan Orlean, alumna and author; Richard Sarns, pioneer in biomedical engineering; and Chris Van Allsburg, alumnus, artist and author.
Orlean also is the featured speaker at University Graduate Exercises at 10 a.m. Friday, at Hill Auditorium.
Spring Commencement will be broadcast on The Michigan Channel 22 on the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Comcast cable TV system. The event will be webcast at ummedia10.rs.itd.umich.edu/flash/nis/commencement2012HD.html.
Speaker
Gupta, the chief medical correspondent for CNN, received his bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences at U-M in 1990. A practicing neurosurgeon who has broadcast live from natural and man-made disasters, he also will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters at Spring Commencement.
His reporting led to a News and Documentary Emmy in 2006, and he contributed to CNN reporting that earned the 2005 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award for coverage of the Sri Lanka disaster. Gupta also in 2010 won two Emmys for his reporting on the earthquake in Haiti. His two books, “Chasing Life” and “Cheating Death” have become bestsellers.
Venue
Spring Commencement seating opens at 8 a.m. Security guidelines prohibit bringing purses, umbrellas and other select items into the stadium. See a list of prohibited items on the commencement website. All family members and guests attending Spring Commencement, including children more than age 2, need a ticket to enter the stadium.
Transportation
Free parking is available in all U-M parking structures and lots 9 a.m. Friday-Sunday. Guests and graduates are encouraged to use the complimentary shuttle bus service for travel to and from Michigan Stadium. Shuttle services are available beginning at 7:45 a.m. to and from select hotels, central downtown locations, and select university parking lots and structures. All shuttle buses are wheelchair accessible.
Inclement Weather Plan
The undergraduate commencement ceremony will take place in Michigan Stadium rain or shine. The ceremony may be shortened, suspended or concluded in the event of severe weather. If a schedule adjustment is required due to severe weather, instructions will be given to guests via public address announcements and video screen messages. Graduates and guests are asked to listen for announcements and remain seated until instructed otherwise.
Graduate Exercises
University Graduate Exercises are at 10 a.m. Friday in Hill Auditorium. Orlean is the featured speaker. This is the commencement ceremony for all master’s and doctoral graduates and candidates who receive their degrees through the Rackham Graduate School. This formal ceremony celebrates and individually recognizes the achievements of the school’s master’s and doctoral recipients.
Assembly for graduates and candidates
Graduates and candidates gather in the Rackham Auditorium at 8:45 a.m. to prepare for the procession across Ingalls Mall and into Hill Auditorium. Master’s degree recipients sit in either the left or right section of the auditorium. Doctoral recipients are in alpha order for diploma distribution. In the event of inclement weather, the academic procession may be cancelled.
Dearborn and Flint
Graduation ceremonies
Both UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint conduct separate morning and afternoon ceremonies Sunday. At the UM-Dearborn Fieldhouse, David Brandon, U-M director of intercollegiate athletics, will speak at 10 a.m. for graduates of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and College of Business. Chacona W. Johnson, president and CEO of the Detroit Public Schools Foundation, will speak at 3 p.m. for graduates of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters and the School of Education.
For UM-Flint, ceremonies are at the Perani Arena and Event Center. Mark Miller, plant manager at the General Motors Davison Road Processing Center, will speak at 11 a.m. before undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Arts and Sciences and graduate students from the Rackham Graduate School. Dr. Raymond Gist, a Flint dentist and the first African-American president of the American Dental Association, will speak at 3:30 p.m. before undergraduate and graduate students from the School of Management, School of Health Professions and Studies, and the School of Education and Human Services.
More celebrations and ceremonies
Thursday, April 26
School of Public Health, 3 p.m., Hill Auditorium, 734-214-6430, with speaker Arthur Kellermann, Rand Corp.
Lavender Graduation, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Michigan Union Anderson Room, 734-763-4186.
School of Kinesiology, 7 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with Paul J. Dolan, chairman and CEO of the Cleveland Indians, 734-647-2696.
Friday, April 27
Stephen M. Ross School of Business BBA and MAcc graduates, 3 p.m. MBA graduates, 6 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with Michelle Bernard, journalist, activist and legal analyst, 734-647-0342.
School of Music, Theatre & Dance, 2 p.m., Power Center, with Gavin Creel, actor, singer and songwriter, 734-764-0594.
School of Information, 4 p.m., Rackham Auditorium, with Richard Sheridan, CEO of Menlo Innovations, 734-763-2285.
La Celebracion Latina, 5 p.m., Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, with Kristine M. Molina, winner of the 2012 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education/Educational Testing Services’ Outstanding Dissertation Award, 734-763-5900.
Saturday, April 28
School of Nursing, 1 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with students Carmen Alvarez, Melisa Foster-Rietz and Christine Renke and alumnus Barbara Medvec, 734-615-7874.
School of Social Work, with Lumas Helaire, Office of Academic and Multicultural Initiatives, 1 p.m., Power Center, 734-936-0961.
School of Natural Resources and Environment, 1:30 p.m., Rackham Auditorium, with Bunyan Bryant, SNRE professor, 734-615-4332.
Residential College, 2 p.m., Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, with Jennifer Myers, RC academic services, 734-763-0176.
School of Art and Design, 2 p.m., Art & Architecture Building Courtyard, with artist and author Chris Van Allsburg, 734-647-9886.
School of Education, 5 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with Michael S. McPherson, Spencer Foundation president, 734-763-4061.
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, 5 p.m., Rackham Auditorium, with Carol Bellamy, Global Partnership for Education 734-615-3893.
Black Celebratory, 6 p.m., Power Center, with Boyd White, 734-936-0664.
Sunday, April 29
College of Engineering graduates, 9:45 a.m.,Rackham Auditorium, 734-647-7046.
College of Engineering undergraduates, 10:30 a.m., Hill Auditorium, with Steve Mollenkopf, 734-647-7049.
Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, 2:30 p.m., Hill Auditorium, 734-764-1340.
Friday, May 4
School of Dentistry, 1 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with Richard Valachovic, American Dental Education Association, 734-647-4026.
Sunday, May 6
Law School, 2 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, 734-615-4501.
Friday, May 11
Medical School, 3 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with retired Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, 734-763-7981.
Saturday, May 19
College of Pharmacy, 2 p.m, Rackham Auditorium, with Dr. Lucinda Maine, executive vice president and CEO, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, 734-764-7144.
