Preparations are proceeding around campus for the University’s 507th Convocation ceremony on the morning of Saturday, June 11, when thousands of students and faculty from across the institution will come together on the Main Quadrangle.
This is the second year for the new, annual University-wide Convocation ceremony, which includes graduates from the College, the Divisions and the Schools. Separate diploma ceremonies will be held by the College and each Division and School on Saturday.
This year’s Convocation procession will begin at 9:15 a.m. The 507th Convocation preserves the tradition of a faculty speaker; this year the speaker is David Strauss, the Gerald Ratner Distinguished Service Professor of Law. In addition, the University will present honorary degrees to four recipients: paleontologist Meemann Chang from Beijing University; former chairman of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees James S. Crown; renowned composer Sofia Gubaidulina; and mathematician Robert Langlands from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J. Click here for more information on the honorary degree recipients.
Preparations for the event are ongoing and will continue through Friday, June 10, resulting in a high degree of activity in and around the Main Quadrangle this week. As with last year’s ceremony, the University is constructing a temporary, covered stage at the eastern edge of the Main Quadrangle, and will fill the Main Quadrangle with more than 20,000 chairs to accommodate degree candidates in addition to their families and friends.
Large screens also will be set up on the Main Quadrangle to assist guests in viewing the exercises. The temporary stage will cross over the main pedestrian path in the Main Quadrangle, blocking both foot and vehicle traffic along that pathway. Emergency vehicles and others needing access to the Main Quadrangle will enter through Cobb Gateway on 57th Street this week.
Guests can find campus maps and location information at the Convocation website. The University encourages guests to make use of public transportation, as parking will be very limited near campus. Please allow extra time if you plan to park on the Midway Plaisance or other nearby locations.
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 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive) and the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place (2233 S. Martin Luther King Drive). Shuttle service will start 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. For more information, consult the shuttle maps on the Convocation website.
For family and friends unable to attend the Convocation, a live webcast will be made available online beginning at 9 a.m. Please click on the following link to view the live webcast: convocation.uchicago.edu/stream.shtml
For more information about Convocation, visit: http://convocation.uchicago.edu.
—Prof. Jacqueline Stewart
