Courtesy photo
Nearly 4,200 students will don a cap and gown next week as part of the University of Arkansas’ 2017 spring commencement ceremonies.
The ceremonies, scheduled for May 12-13, will include both graduate and undergraduate students, and will take place in Bud Walton Arena, Barnhill Arena, and the Faulkner Performing Arts Center. UA Law School Commencement will take place the following weekend on May 20 at the Fayetteville Town Center.
There will be free parking on campus for attendees in any lot labeled unrestricted. Here’s a map of available parking, including parking reserved for people with disabilities.
Attendees will be required to pass through a security checkpoint. UA officials say cameras and handbags will be inspected at the door, and are urging attendees to allow extra time for that process. Baggage, balloons, wrapped packages, backpacks, strollers and noise-makers are prohibited.
Ceremonies held inside Bud Walton Arena and Barnhill Arena will be available via livestream.
The full spring 2017 University of Arkansas commencement schedule is below. For more information, visit the UA’s commencement website.
Friday, May 12
J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences
Time: 3 p.m. (Doors open at 1:30 p.m.)
Location: Bud Walton Arena
More info: All guests should enter through the south entrance. 1,017 students are expected to attend.
Speaker: Ariel Romero, a Fulbright College honors student pursuing a degree in studio art with an emphasis in graphic design.
» Live streaming
Saturday, May 13
All University Commencement
Time: 8:30 a.m. (Doors open at 7:15 a.m.)
Location: Bud Walton Arena
More info: All guests should enter through the south entrance. 909 students are expected to attend.
Honorary degrees: Judge L. Clifford Davis (retired), William T. Dillard II.
Speaker: Rev. Becca Stevens, founder and president of Thistle Farms, Nashville, Tennessee.
» Live streaming
College of Engineering
Time: 12 p.m. (Doors open at 11 a.m.)
Location: Barnhill Arena
More info: All guests should enter through the upper deck of the south entrances. 425 students are expected to attend.
Speaker: Adam Monroe, ’88, president Novozymes Americas
» Live streaming
Sam M. Walton College of Business
Time: 1 p.m. (Doors open at approximately 11:30 a.m.)
Location: Bud Walton Arena
More info: All guests should enter through the south entrance. 787 students are expected to attend.
Speaker: Ed Wilson, BSBA ’80, CEO/Founder Dreamcatcher Media, LLC
» Live streaming
Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design
Time: 1 p.m. (Doors open at noon)
Location: Faulkner Performing Arts Center
More info: All guests should enter through the Garland Avenue entrance. 58 students are expected to attend.
Speaker: Cheryl S. Durst, executive vice president and CEO, International Interior Design Association of Chicago, Illinois
No live streaming is available.
Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food & Life Sciences
Time: 3:30 p.m. (Doors open at 2 p.m.
Location: Barnhill Arena
More info: All guests should enter through the upper deck of the south entrances. 304 students are expected to attend.
Speakers: Outstanding Alumnus John Paul Pendergrass, co-owner of Pendergrass Cattle Co. in Charleston; Outstanding Young Alumna Courtney Meyers, associate professor of agricultural communications, Texas Tech University
» Live streaming
College of Education and Health Professions
Time: 5:30 p.m. (Doors open at 4 p.m.)
Location: Bud Walton Arena
More info: All guests should enter through the south entrance. 566 students are expected to attend.
Speaker: Sandra Keiser (Sandy) Edwards, deputy director of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and former associate vice chancellor for development at the University of Arkansas.
» Live streaming
Saturday, May 20
School of Law
Time: 2 p.m. (Doors open at noon)
Location: Fayetteville Town Center
More info: All guests please enter through the north entrance. 126 students are expected to attend.
Speaker: Kristine Gerhard Baker ’96, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
» Live streaming
