Commencement ceremonies are planned for May 13-14

Degrees for Rice’s Class of 2016 will be conferred Saturday, May 14, during the plenary session in the Academic Quad. Individual recognition of graduating students will take place Friday, May 13, during separate ceremonies at which each degree recipient will be named, presented and congratulated.

Friday’s ceremonies begin at 9 a.m. with the Advanced Degrees Convocation in Alice Pratt Brown Hall’s Stude Concert Hall. All recipients of a master’s degree, other than graduates included in the Jones School’s Investiture, who have RSVP’d online should attend, along with graduates who are receiving an Artist’s Diploma in Music or a Bachelor of Architecture degree.

The Jones Graduate School of Business Investiture will be at 1 p.m. Friday in Tudor Fieldhouse. All degree recipients from the Jones School should attend, along with faculty members who have an appointment in the Jones School.

The Doctoral Hooding Ceremony will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Stude Concert Hall. Ph.D. recipients who have RSVP’d should attend, along with the faculty member they have selected to hood them, who is typically their thesis adviser.

Dinner for seniors only will be served in their residential colleges from 4:45 to 6:30 p.m. Friday. Families are welcome to join their graduating seniors for a free dinner.

The Undergraduate Convocation will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Academic Quad unless inclement weather makes it necessary to move the ceremony indoors at Tudor Fieldhouse. All recipients of bachelor’s degrees except for the Bachelor of Architecture degree should attend. Each student gets to cross the stage, receive a tube for their diploma and be congratulated. Brief remarks will be presented by a student-selected member of the class, by a college master and by President David Leebron. The ceremony will conclude with a student-written trumpet fanfare and a fireworks display.

A continental breakfast for graduating seniors will be served in the residential colleges from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The “R” Association will host a breakfast honoring graduating student-athletes and their families in the “R” Room at Rice Stadium from 6 to 8 a.m.

Saturday’s plenary ceremony will start at 8:30 a.m. in the Academic Quad unless the weather warrants an indoor ceremony at Tudor Fieldhouse. All graduates and all faculty members are expected to attend. The ceremony will feature an academic procession and recession, conferral of degrees, presentation of several awards, brief remarks by Leebron and other officials, and a commencement address by Sheryl WuDunn, the first Asian-American reporter to win a Pulitzer Prize and one of Newsweek’s “150 Women Who Shake the World.” Currently the co-founder of FullSky Capital and a senior managing director for Mid-Market Securities, WuDunn raises capital for men and women entrepreneurs in new media, media technology, health care and social enterprise and advises several growth companies.

After Saturday’s commencement, a reception for undergraduate degree recipients and their guests will be held in their residential colleges. A brunch for doctoral degree recipients and their guests will be served in Rice Memorial Center’s Grand Hall from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Professor Keith Cooper ’78, chief marshal for commencement, said that if it becomes necessary to move outdoor ceremonies indoors, a notice will be posted on rice.edu and an email will be sent to students, faculty and staff.

For more info on commencement, visit http://students.rice.edu/students/Commencement.asp.