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General Instructions
Please read these Commencement Instructions carefully as there will be no rehearsal for Commencement.
During Commencement, all degree candidates (undergraduate and graduate) will be recognized individually while walking across the stage to receive a diploma cover.
The gates at Stokes Stadium open at 1:00 p.m. for family and guest seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.
Procession
Degree Candidates
Degree candidates will assemble in academic dress on Saturday, May 11, in Baldwin Hall Auditorium by 12:30 p.m. Candidates will be seated by degree, not alphabetically. At the appropriate time, the Grand Marshal will declare that the “ranks are closed” and anyone not in place will be excluded from the graduation procession.
Faculty Members
Faculty members will assemble in academic dress in McClain Hall inside the south entrance by 1:15 p.m.
Academic Procession
Administration, guests, and faculty will follow the Grand Marshal and two Junior Marshals out the south doors of McClain Hall. Degree candidates will follow the Junior Marshals through the east doors of Baldwin Hall, proceed north, east, and then south.
The Grand Marshal will lead the platform party and the faculty to the corner of the quad by OP. The students will file out of Baldwin Hall and will stop between Baldwin and Kirk Memorial until all students are out of Baldwin Hall. The procession will then follow the Grand Marshal past the bell wall and will turn west in front of Kirk Building and will walk past the Sunken Gardens and then south past Magruder Hall to Stokes Stadium. The procession will enter Stokes Stadium through the west gate and be seated by the Marshals.
Procession Order
The academic procession will meet at the northeast corner of the Library with the President and Provost forming two lines after the Grand Marshal in the following order:
- Truman State University ROTC Color Guard & Grand Marshall
- Sue Thomas, President and Eric Freedman, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
- Commencement Speaker
- Student Commencement Speaker & Members of the Board of Governors
- Two Faculty Readers, Two Junior Marshals, Faculty Honorees, Administration, & Faculty
- Marshal
- Two Junior Marshals
- Candidates for Master of Accountancy Degree & Candidates for Master of Arts Degree
- Candidates for Master of Arts in Education Degree
- Candidates for Master of Athletic Training Degree
- Candidates for Master of Science Degree
- Two Junior Marshals
- Candidates for Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree
- Candidates for Bachelor of Music Degree
- Candidates for Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree &
- Candidates for Bachelor of Arts Degree
- Two Junior Marshals
- Candidates for Bachelor of Science Degree
Granting of Degrees
Degrees will be granted as follows:
All undergraduate degree candidates will rise at the request of Provost Freedman and remain standing while the degree is conferred en masse by President Thomas. After the degree is conferred en masse, all undergraduate degree candidates will proceed to the stage to be recognized individually and receive their diplomas cover.
Undergraduate degree candidates will be recognized in the following groups:
Group 1: Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and Bachelor of Arts
Group 2: Bachelor of Science
After the degree is conferred en masse Group 1 students will be requested to proceed to the stage to receive their diploma covers. Group 2 students will sit and remain seated until Group 1 students receive their diploma covers and are seated. Group 2 will then be asked to proceed to the stage to receive their diploma covers.
After all the undergraduates receive their diploma covers, all master’s degree candidates will rise at the request of Provost Freedman and remain standing while the degree is conferred en masse by President Thomas. After the degree is conferred en masse, all master’s degree candidates will proceed to the stage to receive their diploma cover.
Recession
Participants will depart in the following order during the playing of the recessional:
- Platform Party
- Administration and Faculty
- Master’s degree recipients
- Undergraduate degree recipients
Miscellaneous Information
Parking
Parking will be available in the Ryle Hall and Pershing Building parking lot and in the lots on Franklin Street directly across from Pershing Arena for guests. Faculty may park wherever it is convenient for forming the processional at McClain Hall.
Guest Seating
There is NO reserved seating for guests. Seating is at a first-come, first-seated basis. Stokes Stadium opens at 1:00 p.m. for seating.
Livestream of Commencement
Truman State University’s Public Relations Department will live stream the Commencement Ceremony on the Truman website at www.truman.edu/watch-ceremony/ and on Truman’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsMBCnmicsQ.
Questions
Please contact the Registrar’s Office, McClain Hall 104 at registrar@truman.edu (subject line Commencement Questions) or (660) 785-4143, with any questions concerning Commencement.