University to celebrate Convocation Weekend June 9-10

The University of Chicago is preparing to celebrate Convocation Weekend on June 9 and June 10.

The weekend starts with Class Day, a new UChicago tradition for graduating students in the College and their families, on Friday, June 9 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Main Quadrangles. The University-wide Convocation ceremony will be held Saturday, June 10 from 9:15 to 11 a.m. also in the Main Quadrangles. Later in the day, the College and graduate divisions and schools will hold individual ceremonies in which diplomas will be presented.

Convocation represents a calling together of the entire University, with graduating students, faculty and staff from the College and graduate divisions and schools gathering to recognize educational achievement.

For those unable to attend, the Class Day and Convocation ceremonies will be webcast at news.uchicago.edu/webcasts. Follow the weekend’s events on social media using #uchicago2017.

Class Day will feature invited speaker David Brooks, AB’83, an op-ed columnist for The New York Times. The event will include the tradition of student speakers with Elizabeth Adetiba, Adolfo Alexander Vincent Morales and Karyn Peyton selected to give remarks this year. The ceremony is open to family and friends of graduating students as well as the larger University community.

Convocation will begin with a procession of undergraduate and graduate candidates into the Main Quadrangles. President Robert J. Zimmer will confer degrees to groups of students by academic program and degree type during the ceremony. The University is scheduled to award a total of 3,562 degrees.

This year’s Convocation speaker is Ka Yee C. Lee, professor in the Department of Chemistry, Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, James Franck Institute and the College. Lee chairs the faculty advisory committee for UChicago’s Francis and Rose Yuen Center in Hong Kong and serves as senior associate vice president for research. Lee’s research focuses on the structure and assembly of biomembranes and their interactions with proteins to elucidate their functions in both normal and diseased states. She has titled her convocation address “A Lifetime of Learning.”

The University will award honorary degrees to Robert MacPherson, a mathematician whose work has impacted many areas in his field; Shaul Mukamel, a groundbreaking theoretician in the field of spectroscopy; and Craig B. Thompson, a leader in the field of cancer metabolism.

Additional honors include the Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal, which will be awarded to musician and educator Steve Coleman for his original and challenging work as well as his continuing leadership in community building.

The University will recognize faculty members for excellence in teaching with presentations of the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Faculty Awards for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring and the Norman Maclean Faculty Award.

Information about the weekend’s events, as well as details on transportation, parking and accommodations can be found on the Convocation website. Convocation shuttles can be tracked at uchicago.transloc.com. Attendees and community members are advised that there will be increased traffic and road closures during this time.

Tickets are not required for the main ceremonies, although they may be required for individual division and school ceremonies. General seating for Convocation will open at 7 a.m. and is available on a first-come basis.

Please note that all bags are subject to inspection before entering the Main Quadrangles. Items that may disrupt other guests from seeing or hearing the ceremony are not permitted inside the Quadrangles.