By: Brenden Schwartz, Staff Writer
Graduation is coming up on Friday, May 6, and there will be some changes from last year.
The greatest change is that there will no longer be two commencement ceremonies, said Lori Gibbon, Newman University Registrar and co-chair of the Commencement Committee.
Rather than having a separate commencement for graduate degree recipients, those graduates will get their degrees at the same ceremony where bachelor’s degrees are awarded.
The other major change will be the removal of the mask mandate. Masks won’t be required nor will there be any restrictions limiting the number of guests in attendance, Gibbon said.
“We are happy to have more relaxed guidelines so that more people can celebrate our graduates,” Gibbon said. “It is such a joyous time that we want every family member that wants to participate to be able to do so.”
Newman President Kathleen Jagger said she is happy that everyone can gather together in one place this year for graduation.
“I'm happy about the sort of renewed unifying as one family for graduation this year.” Jagger said.
The baccalaureate Mass will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 5, and the commencement will be at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 6.
The baccalaureate mass will be the same as last year. It will take place in St. John’s Chapel in Sacred Heart Hall. It will be a celebration of the graduating students, and some pre-selected students will be asked to share memories from their time at Newman. Graduates should wear their gowns, but no caps will be permitted inside the chapel.
Following the baccalaureate mass will be the President’s Reception. Friends and family can join together in the Dugan-Gorges Conference Center for hors d’oeuvres. During this period, students can introduce their parents to their favorite professors.
The Commencement Ceremony will be held at Hartman Arena as it was last year.
“It’s great having the larger venue since we simply outgrew the Central Christian Community Church used in previous years,” Gibbon said.
The speaker at this year’s ceremony will be last year’s winner of the Teaching Excellence award: Dr. Larry Straub from the school of business.
Jagger said she is excited for the class of 2022 to take on whatever comes next but is sad to see such a group of students go.
“I just think that this class has accomplished a great deal as a group,” Jagger said. “We're gonna miss all those really strong leaders that we have in that class.”
PHOTO: Courtsey photo, Anna Veltien, Jessica Hurley
