Commencement-at-a-Glance 2015: Rutgers University’s 249th Anniversary Commencement
Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Sunday, May 17, 12:30 p.m.; Rutgers University-Newark, Monday, May 18, 9 a.m.; Rutgers University-Camden, Thursday, May 21, 9 a.m.
An estimated 16,465 graduates will receive degrees from Rutgers this year. They include approximately 10,593 baccalaureate degrees, 3,951 master’s degrees, 1,919 doctorates (including professional doctorates) and two specialists of education. Since its founding in 1766, Rutgers has awarded 534,667 academic degrees (excluding 2015's estimated total).
Locations: High Point Solutions Stadium, Busch Campus, Piscataway; Prudential Center, Newark; Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden
Remarks: New Brunswick: William S. “Bill” Nye, CEO, the Planetary Society; fellow, Committee for Skeptical Inquiry; television’s “The Science Guy.” Newark: Earl Lewis, president, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Camden: Bryan A. Stevenson, professor of clinical law, New York University School of Law; executive director, Equal Justice Initiative
Honorary degrees: Rutgers will present honorary degrees to Bill Nye (Doctor of Science), Earl Lewis (Doctor of Humane Letters) and Brian A. Stevenson (Doctor of Laws). Also to be honored in New Brunswick: Frances Fox Piven, distinguished professor of political science and sociology, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is an expert in the development of the welfare state, political movements, urban politics, voting and electoral politics, and has been politically engaged in improving the lives of America’s poor since the 1960s (Doctor of Humane Letters). Also to be honored in Camden: Jon Bon Jovi, singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist (Doctor of Letters).
General information: This is Rutgers’ fifth commencement at High Point Solutions Stadium and second since the integration with UMDNJ in July 2013. It is the third presided over by President Robert Barchi, whose tenure as Rutgers’ 20th president officially began in September 2012. He will confer undergraduate and graduate degrees at all three ceremonies. Students from Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences participate in the Rutgers University-New Brunswick commencement. In a change from previous years, the School of Arts and Sciences will hold its convocation in High Point Solutions Stadium following the New Brunswick commencement. Academic departments should be contacted for information about individual receptions. The remaining schools and colleges will hold convocations or receptions. The schedule follows.
NOTE: Estimated numbers of graduates are from the Office of the University Registrar.
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE COMMUNITY
Saturday, May 2, 7 p.m.
One undergraduate
Location: Trayes Hall, Douglass Student Center, 100 George St., New Brunswick
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION
Thursday, May 14, 5 p.m.
830 joint undergraduate degrees, 140 graduate degrees
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
EDWARD J. BLOUSTEIN SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND PUBLIC POLICY
Thursday, May 14, 6 p.m.
54 undergraduate degrees, 89 graduate degrees (280 undergraduate joint degrees are counted in their college totals)
Location: Undergraduate student convocation – State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick
Saturday, May 16, 3 p.m. Graduate convocation
Location: Nicholas Music Center, 85 George St., New Brunswick
Speaker: Honorable Daniel R. Benson, New Jersey assemblyman (14th District). Master of Public Policy, ’99. 2013 Young Alumnus of the Year.
RUTGERS BUSINESS SCHOOL-NEWARK AND NEW BRUNSWICK (UNDERGRADUATE, NEW BRUNSWICK)
Friday, May 15, 2 p.m.
621 undergraduate degrees
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
Speaker: Leonardo DeCandia, group chief procurement officer, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson. Engineering ’82, MBA, ’87. Founder and chair of the RBS Supply Chain Management Center.
MASON GROSS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
Friday, May 15, 2:30 p.m.
152 graduating seniors, 65 graduate degrees (25 Doctors of Musical Arts, 20 Masters of Music and 20 Masters of Fine Arts)
Location: State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick
Speaker: Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, founder, performance ensemble, Urban Bush Women.
DOUGLASS RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE
Saturday, May 16, 10 a.m.
Recognizing 656 graduating seniors enrolled in Douglass Residential College
Location: Antilles Field, Douglass Campus, New Brunswick
Speaker: Nell Painter, Edward Professor of American History Emerita at Princeton University. BFA in painting, Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts, ’09.
GRADUATE SCHOOL-NEWARK
Saturday, May 16, 3 p.m.
Location: Paul Robeson Campus Center, Essex Room, 350 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Hooding ceremony for Ph.D. and M.F.A. graduates in the Creative Writing program
Speaker: Alexis J. Rodriguez, assistant professor, Department of Biological Sciences. ’02 (doctorate).
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND LABOR RELATIONS
Saturday, May 16, 4 p.m.
144 undergraduate degrees, 180 graduate degrees (450 undergraduate joint degrees are counted in their college totals)
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
Speakers: Members of the Class of 2015, with their programs and hometowns – Tracy M. Ng, Bachelor of Arts in Human Resource Management (also psychology and sociology). Colonia, N.J.; Jade Palmieri, Bachelor of Arts in Labor Studies and Employment Relations and in Human Resource Management. Green Brook, N.J.; William Campbell, Master of Labor and Employment Relations. Mount Laurel, N.J.; Reyna E. Martinez, Master’s in Human Resource Management. Paterson, N.J.; Melissa Daniel, representing SMLR alumni.
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
Sunday, May 17, 8:30 a.m.
125 graduate degrees
Location: Livingston Hall, Livingston Student Center, 84 Joyce Kilmer Ave., Piscataway
GRADUATE SCHOOL-NEW BRUNSWICK
Sunday, May 17, 9:30 a.m.
1,051 graduates
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF APPLIED AND PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Sunday, May 17, 9:30 a.m.
80 graduate degrees
Location: Visitor Center, 100 Sutphen Road, Busch Campus, Piscataway
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEW BRUNSWICK COMMENCEMENT
Sunday, May 17, 12:30 p.m.
Location: High Point Solutions Stadium
Speakers: Bill Nye, CEO, the Planetary Society; fellow, Committee for Skeptical Inquiry; television’s “The Science Guy.” Kristine Baffo, Class of 2015 representative; president, Rutgers University Student Assembly; former student representative, Rutgers Board of Trustees; former member, University Senate.
SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Sunday, May 17, 3 p.m.
4,729 graduating seniors
Location: High Point Solutions Stadium, Busch Campus, Piscataway
Performance: Regina Belle, ’15; Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, actress.
For information about individual academic department celebrations, contact the departments directly.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Sunday, May 17, 4:30 p.m.
758 graduates
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
SCHOOL OF HEALTH RELATED PROFESSIONS
Sunday, May 17, 4:30 p.m.
291 undergraduate degrees, 301 graduate degrees
Location: College Avenue Gymnasium, 130 College Ave. New Brunswick
Speaker: Denise V. Rodgers, physician; vice chancellor for interprofessional programs, Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences; Hunterdon Endowed Chair in Interprofessional Education, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; former president, UMDNJ.
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
130 graduate degrees
Location: Nicholas Music Center, 85 George St., New Brunswick
Speaker: Jeffrey C. Brenner, primary care physician at Cooper University Health Care; executive director, Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers. MacArthur Fellow (2013). Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, ’95. Recipient of honorary Doctor of Science degree from Rutgers (2014).
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEWARK COMMENCEMENT
Monday, May 18, 9 a.m.
Location: Prudential Center, 25 Lafayette St., Newark
Participants:
School of Criminal Justice (174 undergraduate and 20 graduate degrees)
Newark College of Arts and Sciences (600 graduates)
University College-Newark (86 graduates)
Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick (625 undergraduate degrees)
Graduate School-Newark (258 graduates)
School of Public Affairs and Administration (33 undergraduate and 130 graduate degrees)
Speaker: Earl Lewis, president, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; acclaimed historian and author.
ERNEST MARIO SCHOOL OF PHARMACY
Monday, May 18, 10 a.m.
200 Pharm.D. degrees
Location: College Avenue Gymnasium, 130 College Ave., New Brunswick
Speaker: David Epstein, pharmaceutical division head of Novartis AG, Rutgers College of Pharmacy, ’84.
SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Monday, May 18, 10 a.m.
715 graduates
Location: Lawn near College Pond (“Passion Puddle”), George H. Cook Campus, New Brunswick
Rain: Monday, May 18, 10 a.m., Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
NEW JERSEY MEDICAL SCHOOL
Monday, May 18, 10 a.m.
182 medical degrees
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, One Center St., Newark
Speaker: Adewale Troutman, associate dean for health, equity and community engagement, University of South Florida College of Public Health, Tampa. NJMS, ’79.
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
Monday, May 18, 3 p.m.
580 graduate degrees
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
Speaker: Ashley Biden, social worker and executive director of the Delaware Center for Justice, a nonprofit advocacy group that pursues issues related to corrections, alternatives to incarceration, re-entry to society, crime prevention and the needs of victims. Daughter of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Jill Jacobs Biden.
RUTGERS SCHOOL OF DENTAL MEDICINE
Monday, May 18, 4 p.m.
123 degrees
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, One Center St., Newark
Speaker: Maxine Feinberg, periodontist and president, American Dental Association.
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Monday, May 18, 4:30 p.m.
327 graduates (289 master’s 35 doctorates, two specialists of education)
Location: College Avenue Gymnasium, 130 College Ave., New Brunswick
ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL
Monday, May 18, 6 p.m.
129 medical degrees
Location: State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick
Speaker: Alfred F. Tallia, professor and chair, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. RWJMS, ’78.
ROTC COMMISSIONING CEREMONY – ARMY
Tuesday, May 19, 11 a.m.
25 Army second lieutenants to be commissioned
Location: Kirkpatrick Chapel, 81 Somerset St., New Brunswick. Reception to follow on Old Queens lawn.
Speaker: Retired Brig. Gen. Bruce B. Bingham, U.S. Army; executive director, Capstone Advisory Group LLC, New York. Rutgers College, ’68 (Distinguished Military Graduate).
SCHOOL OF NURSING
Wednesday, May 20, 10 a.m.
354 undergraduate degrees, 328 graduate degrees
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, One Center St., Newark
Speaker: Diana Mason, president, American Academy of Nursing. Rudin Professor of Nursing, Hunter College-Bellevue School of Nursing, City University of New York.
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-CAMDEN CONVOCATION AND GRADUATE STUDENT COMMENCEMENT
Thursday, May 21, 9 a.m.
Location: Susquehanna Bank Center, 1 Harbour Blvd.
Participants:
Graduate School-Camden (167 graduates)
School of Business-Camden (109 graduate degrees)
School of Nursing-Camden (49 graduate degrees)
Location: Susquehanna Bank Center, 1 Harbour Blvd.
Speakers: Bryan A. Stevenson, professor of clinical law, New York University School of Law; executive director, Equal Justice Initiative. Jon Bon Jovi, singer, songwriter, actor, philanthropist.
ROTC COMMISSIONING CEREMONY – AIR FORCE
Thursday, May 21, 12 p.m.
Nine second lieutenants to be commissioned
Location: Cook Student Center, 59 Biel Road, New Brunswick
Speaker: Retired Lt. Col. Matthew W. Lacy, senior aerospace science instructor, Camden County Technical School, Sicklerville, N.J. Former commander and professor of aerospace studies, Air Force ROTC Detachment 485, Rutgers.
RUTGERS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS-CAMDEN
Thursday, May 21, 12:30 p.m.
285 undergraduate degrees
Location: Susquehanna Bank Center, 1 Harbour Blvd.
Speaker: Chris Satullo, vice president of news and civic dialogue, WHYY, Philadelphia.
SCHOOL OF NURSING-CAMDEN
Thursday, May 21, 2:30 p.m.
252 undergraduate degrees
Location: Athletic and Fitness Center, 301 Linden St.
Speaker: Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, Rutgers Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and director, Community Leadership Center.
RUTGERS SCHOOL OF LAW-CAMDEN
Thursday, May 21, 3 p.m.
150 graduates
Location: Susquehanna Bank Center, 1 Harbour Blvd.
Speaker: Donald C. Clark Jr., general counsel, United Church of Christ. ’79.
FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES-CAMDEN
Thursday, May 21, 6 p.m.
Participants:
Camden College of Arts and Sciences (612 graduates)
University College-Camden (107 graduates)
Location: Susquehanna Bank Center, 1 Harbour Blvd.
Speaker: Walt MacDonald, president and CEO, Educational Testing Service. CCAS ’74, GSNB (doctorate) ’83.
RUTGERS SCHOOL OF LAW-NEWARK
Friday, May 22, 10 a.m.
230 graduates
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, One Center Street
Speaker: Honorable Barry T. Albin, associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Rutgers College ’73.
RUTGERS BUSINESS SCHOOL-NEWARK AND NEW BRUNSWICK
Friday, May 22, 4 p.m.
728 graduate degrees
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, One Center St.
Speaker: Art Certosimo, vice chair and member, board of advisors, Promontory Interfinancial Network. Rutgers College ’77; chair, Board of Advisers, Rutgers Business School; vice chair, Board of Overseers, Rutgers University Foundation.
EDITOR’S NOTE: For commencement information, media credentials and parking pass (Rutgers-New Brunswick), contact Steve Manas, Office of Media Relations, 848-932-0559 or smanas@ucm.rutgers.edu. To learn more about commencement, click here.