Twitter CEO and U-M alumnus Richard (Dick) Costolo will deliver the annual Spring Commencement address at 10 a.m. Saturday in Michigan Stadium.
And in his honor, students and families attending the ceremony are encouraged to use the Twitter hashtag #MGoGrad to share their experiences and photos.
“Tweets from the ceremony will be displayed on the Michigan Stadium scoreboard and the hashtag will be printed on a lot of our signage and on our volunteer T-shirts to remind our guests to use it,” says Michelle Ellison, coordinator of events marketing and analytics.
At the traditional ceremony, the university’s undergraduate degree recipients are recognized.
Costolo also will receive an honorary degree along with:
As commencement approaches, seniors are selecting their academic attire for the variety of ceremonies that will be conducted across campus. Karin Bashir (left), a senior majoring in international studies in LSA, shops for a cap and gown with help from Anne Gunderson, a student employee at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore in the Michigan Union. Photo by Todd McKinney.
• William Brehm, strong advocate and supporter of higher education.
• Suzanne Farrell, a ballet dancer, known worldwide, and an educator.
• Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a business leadership expert and former editor of the Harvard Business Review.
• David McCullough, best-selling author and historian.
• Dale Kildee, a former longtime member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Flint.
• Jeffrey Sachs, economist and advocate for sustainable development.
Kildee will receive his honorary degree during ceremonies at UM-Flint on Sunday, and Sachs was to receive his during the UM-Dearborn commencement April 28.
Spring Commencement will be broadcast locally on The Michigan Channel, channel 22 on the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Comcast cable TV system. The event will be webcast at ummedia11.adsroot.itcs.umich.edu/itsComm/commencement.html.
Speaker
Costolo, Twitter’s chief executive officer, has played a significant role in revolutionizing social media, marketing and global communications. The computer science major from Royal Oak joined San Francisco-based Twitter in 2009 as chief operating officer and became CEO in 2010. He will receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Laws.
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1985 from LSA, Costolo worked as a stand-up comedian in Chicago while developing skills as a Web entrepreneur. As a senior manager at Andersen Consulting he helped develop the first Web-based enterprise training application.
Costolo co-founded and sold three companies: Burning Door Networked Media Inc., specializing in Web projects; Spyonit, which notified people when a Web page changed; and FeedBurner Inc., which helped bloggers syndicate content. He also served as senior vice president of MNO Solutions at 724 Solutions Inc., as vice president of product development at Digital Knowledge Assets, and as director of FlowPlay Inc.
Twitter, founded in 2006, has grown under his leadership from 50 employees to 1,300. The social media giant has more than 200 million monthly users.
Venue
The stadium opens for Spring Commencement seating at 8 a.m. Security guidelines prohibit purses, umbrellas, bags, cases of any size and other select items. Cell phones, small cameras and hand-held video cameras are permitted. See a list of prohibited and permitted items on the commencement website: commencement.umich.edu/dates.html. All family members and guests attending Spring Commencement, including children older than age 2, need a ticket to enter Michigan Stadium.
Transportation
Free parking is available in all U-M parking structures and lots Friday-Sunday.
On Saturday, 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
Spring Commencement is scheduled to 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. Graduates and guests are asked to listen for announcements and remain seated until instructed otherwise.
Graduate Exercises
University Graduate Exercises are at 11 a.m. Friday in Hill Auditorium. Rosabeth Moss Kanter 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.
Graduates and candidates gather in Rackham Auditorium at 9:45 a.m. to prepare for the procession across Ingalls Mall and into Hill Auditorium.
Dearborn and Flint graduation ceremonies
UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint schedule separate morning and afternoon ceremonies.
The Dearborn ceremonies were scheduled for April 28, with Anne Parsons, president and CEO of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, speaking in the morning to College of Business, College of Engineering and Computer Science, and School of Education graduates. Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, was to address College of Arts, Sciences and Letters graduates in the afternoon. Sachs also was awarded the honorary degree, Doctor of Science.
At UM-Flint, Dale Kildee will be the commencement speaker and will receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Laws, at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Perani Arena and Event Center, before undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Kenneth Steibel, chief of staff at Genesys Regional Medical Center, will address the 3 p.m. session at the arena, 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
Many schools and colleges conduct separate recognition events or ceremonies for their graduates and candidates. Contact the school or college for more information. The following events are confirmed as of the printing of this publication. All telephone numbers listed are in area code 734 unless noted otherwise.
The College of Pharmacy ceremony took place April 27 at Rackham Auditorium, with Joseph T. DiPiro, executive dean of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy, 764-7144.
Thursday, May 2
Lavender Graduation, 4:30-6:30 p.m., with David Bohnett, chair of the David Bohnett Foundation, Michigan Union Pendleton Room.
School of Public Health, 3 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with Thomas Goetz, entrepreneur-in-residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, 214-6430.
School of Kinesiology, 7 p.m., Hill Auditorum, with Jon Jansen, CrossFit Petoskey and Big Ten Network football analyst, 764-4472.
Friday, May 3
School of Music, Theatre & Dance, 2 p.m., Power Center for the Performing Arts, with actor, director and producer LeVar Burton, 764-0594.
School of Information, 4 p.m., Rackham Auditorium, with Martha Pollack, vice provost and provost-elect, 647-3110, and webcast at si.umich.edu/live.
Stephen M. Ross School of Business, 4 p.m. for BBA and MAcc, and 7 p.m. for MBA and Ph.D., both at Hill Auditorium, with speaker Jeff Taylor, founder of Eons.com and Monster.com, 647-0342.
La Celebracion Latina, 5 p.m., Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, with John Vasquez, program officer for academic initiatives, Rackham Graduate School, 763-0192.
Native American Student Graduation Ceremony, 6:30 p.m., Alumni Center, with Sandra Momper, assistant professor of social work, 763-9044.
Saturday, May 4
School of Nursing, 1 p.m., Hill Auditorium, 764-9145.
School of Social Work, 1 p.m., Power Center for the Performing Arts,
with Ruth Messinger, president and CEO of the American Jewish World Service, 936-0961.
School of Natural Resources and Environment, 1:30 p.m., Rackham Auditorium, with Mark Van Putten, founder and president of ConservationStrategy LLC, 615-4332.
Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, 2 p.m., Art & Architecture Building, with Linda Holliday, CEO of Citia, 647-9886.
Residential College, 2 p.m., Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, with Angela Dillard, director of the Residential College, and Charlie Murphy, student services assistant senior, 763-0176.
College of Engineering, 3 p.m., Crisler Center, with W. James McNerney Jr., chairman of the board, president and CEO, The Boeing Co., 647-7049.
School of Education, 5 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with Carl A. Cohn, director of the Urban Leadership Program, Claremont Graduate University, 763-4061.
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, 5 p.m., Rackham Auditorium,
with Paul H. O’Neill, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and former deputy director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 615-3893.
Black Celebratory, 6 p.m., Power Center, with Michael Muse, co-founder of Muse Recordings, 936-1055.
Sunday, May 5
A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, noon, Hill Auditorium (615-5260)
Friday, May 10
School of Dentistry, 1 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with Dean Peter J. Polverini, 647-4026.
Sunday, May 12
Law School, 2 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with Ken Salazar, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, 615-4501.
Friday, May 17
Medical School, 3 p.m., Hill Auditorium, with Dr. Michael M.E. Johns, former dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 763-7981.
