Stadium commencement brings Rutgers full circle
With three major campuses, and a student enrollment of 56,000, Rutgers has always faced a challenge in coming together as one community for a single event..
But the university is poised to meet that challenge at its 245th commencement, which is expected to be the largest and most inclusive gathering of Rutgers graduates in generations.
The May 15 commencement will be held at Rutgers Stadium. All graduates – approximately 12,500 bachelor’s and advanced degree recipients from the New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark campuses - are invited to attend and participate in the ceremony. Students are urged to respond to the RSVP site.
In recent years, commencements have been held on Voorhees Mall, with the focus generally on graduate students. Representatives from all 27 degree-granting units at the university were also present at the event. In addition, many of the units held separate, collegiate convocations where graduates were individually recognized.
The tradition of separate convocations on all three campuses will continue this year (click here for individual school convocations schedule), but will be complemented by a new tradition of a universitywide commencement aimed at bringing all members of the Rutgers community together to celebrate graduation.
“There are two distinct parts of the graduation experience for Rutgers graduates and their families,” said University Secretary Leslie Fehrenbach. “Commencement is the formal, celebratory ceremony in which the graduates’ degrees are conferred and the entire university community comes together. The individual school convocations or receptions are more personal and offer students and their families the opportunity to interact with their dean and the faculty."
This year’s keynote speaker is Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, who will receive an honorary doctor of letters degree.
Throughout its history, Rutgers has held commencement in many locations, including at an opera house in the late 19th century and at the old Second Reformed Church in the 1920s. In 1949, commencement moved to the old Rutgers Stadium. In the early 1970s, the ceremony returned to Voorhees Mall, and after that, was held at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Most recently, the ceremony has been held on Voorhees Mall.
The change in venue was in some respects inevitable. This commencement marks the first graduating class of the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), created in 2006 as part of a major initiative to transform undergraduate education at Rutgers. The largest academic unit at Rutgers, SAS has more than 800 faculty and more than 70 majors. Approximately 4,800 students from SAS are expected to graduate, and at east 3,500 are expected to attend commencement.
Having commencement at the stadium, which has a capacity of 52,000, carries many advantages, including the ability to accommodate all graduates from throughout the university and their guests. Students can invite as many friends or relatives as they wish. All faculty, staff, students and alumni are also welcome to attend. There are no tickets to purchase, and there’s plenty of free parking.
Then there’s the Jumbotron – the giant television screen – which will show video biographies of the honorary degree recipients, as well as a video specifically made for the families and their guests.
The big screen will also provide everyone in the house with a close-up view of the proceedings.
“Every seat has a great view,” said Christopher Retzko, manager of special events and programs for the university, who is overseeing commencement.
In addition, the video ribbon board will stream the names of every graduate.
The graduates will process onto the field, where they will sit with their respective academic units.
The procession starts at 10 a.m., and the ceremony is projected to run from 10:30 to 11:30.
Retzko has asked students to respond to the RSVP and also to become a fan of the Facebook page for Commencement.