The University of Chicago community and its graduating students will celebrate Convocation this weekend with a series of events across campus honoring the Class of 2026.
The main University-wide ceremony will begin at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, with a procession into the Main Quadrangles. During the traditional “calling together” of the UChicago community, President Paul Alivisatos will provide remarks and confer degrees to candidates.
This year’s Convocation faculty speaker is Prof. Alison LaCroix, a renowned scholar of U.S. legal history specializing in constitutional law, federalism, and 18th- and 19th-century legal thought.
On Friday, June 5, the College will celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2026 at Class Day. The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. and will feature addresses from David Auburn, AB’91, a playwright, screenwriter and director who won a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize for his play Proof; as well as graduating College students Matteo Caloia, Ana Emilia Davalos and Vincent Li.
UChicago’s divisions and schools also will hold diploma and hooding ceremonies throughout the weekend. For those unable to attend, the Class Day and Convocation ceremonies will be webcast on the UChicago digital channels.
For more information, and a full schedule of ceremonies across campus, visit the Convocation website. Members of the University community, along with their family and friends, are invited to share photos, memories and congratulatory messages on social media using #UChicago2026.
UChicago to honor distinguished scholars
During the main Convocation ceremony on June 6, the University will recognize faculty members for excellence in teaching and mentorship with presentations of the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Faculty Awards for Excellence in Ph.D. Teaching and Mentoring. UChicago will also award honorary degrees to economic and legal scholar Louis Kaplow, and historian and archaeologist Greg Woolf.
Information for visitors
Please visit the Know Before You Go section of the Convocation website before arriving on campus. This resource contains important information about transportation, parking restrictions, road closures, shuttle service, venue access and other details to help you prepare for the weekend's events.
Guests attending the University-wide Convocation ceremony will enter the Main Quadrangles through one of three designated entrances and will proceed through a security screening process.
To help ensure a positive experience for all attendees, items that may obstruct the view of other guests or disrupt the ceremony are not permitted inside the Main Quadrangles.
