Graduation Information

Congratulations to the spring 2013 degree candidates on your impending graduation. Below you will find an outline of Chicago Harris School graduation activities.

If you have any additional questions that are not answered on these web pages, please contact Kathi Marshall at kathim@uchicago.edu.

SPRING QUARTER CONVOCATION AND CHICAGO HARRIS DIPLOMA AND HOODING CEREMONY
The 515th Convocation will take place on the morning of Saturday, June 15, 2013, and will be held outdoors (rain or shine; however, in the case of inclement weather, the ceremonies may be delayed or modified) on the University’s main quad. See map. (This map still has last year’s dates, but is still relevant.)  At this ceremony, the president will verbally confer degrees to groups of candidates by degree type and academic program. You will receive your diploma and hood at the Chicago Harris Diploma and Hooding ceremony.

Most information can be found at http://convocation.uchicago.edu/page/spring-info, and some of the provided here duplicates the information found on that website. Graduates are encouraged, but not required, to march in the University-wide morning convocation. The majority of Harris graduates do attend. There is no assigned seating. However, all Harris graduates will sit together.

Academic Attire
Please review the information at http://convocation.uchicago.edu/page/academic-attire. The Harris School provides the hoods for master’s and doctoral candidates as keepsakes.

CONVOCATION CEREMONY (no tickets are required)

7:00 a.m.  Main Quadrangle opens

8:15 - 8:55 a.m. Chicago Harris degree candidates assemble in Bartlett Quadrangle. http://convocation.uchicago.edu/page/candidate-line. Students who graduated in a prior quarter, but are participating in the spring Diploma and Hooding Ceremony, cannot participate in the University-wide convocation ceremony, but can attend as a guest (no ticket is required).

9:00 a.m.  All guests are requested to be in their seats (for guest information, including information for guests with disabilities, please go to http://convocation.uchicago.edu/page/guest-information.

9:15 a.m. 515th Convocation, Main Quadrangle
Complimentary water will be available all day at a number stations through the Main Quad. This is a long day.  Since our reception does not begin until 1:00 p.m. and your guests may not have eaten since early morning, if you are participating in the morning convocation, we advise they bring along snacks. We will have snacks and water for “newly minted” alumni in between convocation and the diploma/hooding ceremony.

If you have friends and family unable to attend, they can view convocation at convocation.uchicago.edu. Also for guests who prefer an indoor location, Kent Auditorium will be open for viewing convocation, but seating is limited.

CHICAGO HARRIS DIPLOMA AND HOODING CEREMONY
Tickets are not required for the 515^th convocation, although they are required for the Chicago Harris Diploma and Hooding ceremony, which immediately follows convocation. Each student is given an allotment of 5 tickets. Please use the Spring Graduation Form (the link is to the right) to request tickets.  You can also use this form to request extra tickets. We cannot guarantee extra tickets. The availability is based on the number of allotted tickets that will not be used and demand for extra tickets. Also, recent renovations to Mandel Hall, the location of the Chicago Harris Diploma and Hooding ceremony, have reduced the seating capacity. While we want all your family and friends to attend, please be respectful of the number requested. Also, current Harris students cannot attend as a guest without special permission from the Dean of Students office. If a current student attends without permission, they will be asked to leave immediately and guest tickets to their graduation may be revoked.

All times for the Diploma and Hooding Ceremony, except for the 3:00 end time for the reception, are approximate. The start time of all events depends on the length of the morning convocation ceremony.

10:45 a.m. The doors of Mandel Hall will open for guest seating. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. There are two floors in Mandel Hall and no elevator to the second floor. If any of your guests need special accommodations please indicate on the Spring 2013 graduation form (the link is to the right). 

11:00 a.m. Line up in the McCormick Tribune room in Reynolds Club (first floor). There is assigned seating for graduates at the Diploma and Hooding Ceremony, so you will need to be lined up in a certain order. Please e patient during this process. We will send out a lineup closer to the day of graduation. Please leave all your personal items with family or friends. Physical Sciences will be using the room immediately after us and we cannot be responsible for any personal items left behind.

11:25 a.m. Process to Mandel Hall

11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Chicago Harris Diploma and Hooding Ceremony, Mandel Hall
(see below under “The Ceremony” for detailed information).

12:15 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Group graduation photo

12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Reception, Hutch Courtyard
Rain location: Hutch Commons (food will be served in Hutch Courtyard) 

DIPLOMA AND HOODING CEREMONY INFORMATION

• For those participating in convocation, once it has ended, please make your way immediately to the McCormick Tribune room on the first floor of the Reynolds Club. We will have volunteers to lead you to the McCormick Tribune room.
• The McCormick Tribune Room is for graduates and faculty/staff only. We will assemble in this area to process to Mandel Hall.  
• Guests should proceed directly to Mandel Hall. Mandel Hall is handicap accessible by the west entrance.
• For those not participating in the convocation ceremony, please be in the McCormick Tribune Room, in the Reynolds Club, by 11:00 a.m., no later.  Please arrive in academic attire.
• You will process, led by faculty, beginning at approximately 11:25. Information will be sent at a later date regarding the processional, going on stage to receive your diploma/hood and recessing.
• Immediately after the diploma/hooding ceremony, you will make your way to the risers for the group photo. If you do not go immediately, you will miss being part of the photo. Just follow the student marshal and faculty to the location. To order a group graduation photo, please use the “Spring 2013 Graduation form” link to the right. Please give a mailing address where you will be in August 2013.
• The reception takes place in Hutch Courtyard, immediately following the ceremony until 3:00.
• The University bookstore will be on hand if you want to purchase Chicago Harris and University items.
• Chappell Graduation Images will record the ceremony and photograph you as you receive your diploma. Approx. two weeks after the ceremony, graduates will receive from Chappell, via mail to the current address listed with the University, a full-color proof.  You are under no obligation to purchase. However, you can place an order by calling 800.424.3686or via their website: www.gradimages.com.

THE CEREMONY
Remember, while this is a formal occasion, respectful of tradition, this is your time, your celebration. So even with all the minutiae I’m about to outline, any misstep doesn’t matter. All in attendance…your family and friends, Harris faculty and staff…are there to celebrate you and your accomplishments.

• From the McCormick Tribune Room, you will process to Mandel Hall. First-year volunteers will help with seating.  Once in front of your chair, please remain standing. There will be much applause. Applaud yourselves! Remain standing until all students are in front of a chair. I will be on stage, at the podium, and will let everyone know when to be seated.
• The Dean of Students will give the welcome and introduce the alumni speaker.
• The alumni speaker will talk for approximately 15 minutes.
• Next is the diploma presentation.
  
  
  • Once it’s time to go on stage, students will stand up one row at a time, cued by Harris staff.
  • Students will leave the row and stand against the wall in line.  
  • The Dean of Students will call your name, one at a time.
  • You will go up on stage from the side steps.
  • Master’s students will make your way to the hooders on your side of the stage. For PhD students, you will all be hooded on the same side of the stage.
    
    
    • When you approach the hooders, you can shake their hand. Then you need to turn around and face the audience, with your back to the hooders. Remove your cap, or leave it on your chair. The hooders will hood you. Turn around and shake hands again. Hugs are allowed too!
    • Walk over to Dean O’Muircheartaigh, who will hand you your diploma. Shake his hand.
  • You will make your way down the middle stairs. Two student volunteers will be standing there to assist you down the stairs.
  • While you are being hooded and given your diploma, you will have your photograph taken. You will receive a proof in the mail and can order prints if you like. There will also be a DVD of the ceremony which you can purchase. Both the photo and DVD are from an outside contractor.
  • Make your way back to your chair and be seated.
  • Once everyone is hooded and receives a diploma, Dean O’Muircheartaigh will give closing remarks.
  • You will then rise together for one last time as a class. Look to the staff for this cue.
  • You will follow faculty out.
  • You will be lead out the west door over to the spot for the group graduation photo. Don’t forget, group photographs are free, but you have to give me a mailing address.
  • Once the group photo is taken…you’re free!

Food and beverage are underneath the tent, outside Mandel Hall.A wristband is required. The reception ends at 3:00. Please indicate if you need any vegan lunch boxes on the "Spring 2013 Graduation" form.

The campus bookstore will have representatives selling U of C items, including diploma frames and Harris items.

For those who borrowed academic attire, please leave it at the alumni table. There will be a bin. If you purchased your academic attire and want to donate for future Harris graduates, you can also leave at the alumni table.

Tips
Attire: If it is 87 degrees outside, dress comfortably. Khakis or other light pants and a shirt for men, sundresses for women are acceptable. Guest attire ranges from suits to casual wear. It’s a personal choice.

Shoes: Saturday, June 15 is not the day to wear a new pair of shoes, unless you’ve worn them in. We will have band-aids on hand. Also, you will be walking on grass for some of the procession for convocation so, for ladies, wear shoes with heels which won’t sink into the grass.

Complimentary water will be available all day, at a number of water stations, throughout the Main Quad. This is a long day.  Since our reception will not begin until approx. 12:30, and your guests may not have eaten since early morning, if you are participating in the morning convocation, we advise they bring along snacks. We will have snacks and water for graduates in between convocation and the Diploma and Hooding ceremony.

Parking and Transportation (from the University website:
The following roads will be closed on campus: University and Ellis
between 59^th and 57^th. 59^th and 57^th between University and Ellis. As in any large city, parking can be a challenge. Please allow extra time if you plan to park on the Midway Plaisance or on other streets near campus. Limited visitor parking is available, free of charge, in campus lots and in the garage at the corner of 55th Street and Ellis Avenue. Shuttle service will be provided for those lots not within close walking distance. Shuttles will drop guests off at 59^th & Ellis. See parking locations. This map is from last year’s convocation, but the information is still relevant. For guests staying at hotels outside of Hyde Park, shuttle service will be provided to and from downtown Chicago, with pick-up locations at the Gleacher Center (450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive) and the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place (2233 South Martin Luther King Drive). Shuttle service will begin downtown at 6:30 a.m. and continue to run every fifteen minutes throughout the day. The last shuttle for the day will leave campus at 6:45 p.m. Those needing special assistance can be dropped off at a location closer to the ceremony. Complete the special accommodations form.

Enjoy! Have fun! Congratulations!