UNDERGRADUATE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY INSTRUCTIONS
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 • 9:00 a.m. Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
#WPUNJ2019
INVITATION
We invite you to participate in this year’s Commencement ceremony, our annual celebration where you along with family and friends gather among the faculty and staff to honor your achievement. The ceremony is being held on Wednesday, May 15 at 9:00 a.m. at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The Commencement ceremony is a formal celebration steeped in academic ritual and traditions, complete with procession, academic regalia, and other elements of pageantry. Personal attention takes center stage as each graduate is individually recognized. Therefore, we ask that each student be afforded similar attention and that the community conduct themselves befitting the occasion. While the ceremony may last up to three hours, each student’s experience should be similar and we request that all students remain in your seats until the conclusion of the event. Early departures and other disruptive behavior can take away from what we hope will be a memorable event. Enclosed are instructions for you to best prepare for the event. Guest information can be found online at www.wpunj.edu/commencement/guests . Please note that guests do not need tickets to attend the ceremony. Family members will not be able to interact with graduates in the ceremony-level staging and exit areas. Therefore, please arrange for a mutually agreed upon meeting location with your family members outside the Prudential Center at the end of the ceremony. We look forward to seeing you at the ceremony. Congratulations! Francisco Diaz and Pam Fueshko Commencement Coordinators
THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS PERTAIN TO THE CEREMONY: Instructions and guest information are posted at www.wpunj.edu/commencement Questions pertaining to the ceremony should be directed to commencement@wpunj.edu ATTENDANCE Your participation in the ceremony is voluntary. There is no rehearsal for Commencement. Doors to the Prudential Center will open at 7:30 a.m. for students. Graduates must enter at the Ford Tower Entrance on Lafayette St. Please allow time to go through the Security Checkpoint. Please bring your regalia (cap, gown, hood, tassel, honor cords if applicable) and your name card with you to your staging area. Family members and guests are requested to go directly into the arena. Doors will open for admittance of guests at 8:00 a.m. through the Investors Bank Tower Entrance on Edison St. All guests will go through a Security Checkpoint. Please leave any valuables or personal belongings in your vehicle or with family members as you will not return to the staging areas. All persons (guests and graduates) are subject to a bag search and security screening. This security process should be factored into your arrival time to avoid delays. Please secure parking in advance. The link to SpotHero to reserve parking can be found on either the Undergraduate Ceremony or Guests pages at www.wpunj.edu/commencement/guests. The ceremony will be simulcast which can be accessed via the University’s home page, www.wpunj.edu.
PROCESSIONAL PREPARATION Upon entrance into the Ford Tower Entrance, you must go through the security checkpoint including a bag check. University personnel and signage will direct you to the service level of the arena and the appropriate staging area by your academic major within the appropriate department and College per the listing below. STAGING LOCATIONS —The staging areas are as follows: College of the Arts & Communication
Box Office Lobby
Art Art History
Communication Music
Cotsakos College of Business
North Storage
Accounting Economics Finance Financial Planning
Global Business Management Marketing Professional Sales
College of Education
Locker Rooms
Early Childhood Elementary Education Secondary Education College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Loading Dock
Africana World Studies Anthropology Asian Studies Criminology & Criminal Justice English Geography & Urban Studies History Latin American & Latino Studies
Legal Studies Liberal Studies Philosophy Political Science Psychology Sociology Spanish Women’s & Gender Studies
College of Science & Health
Loading Dock
Applied Health Athletic Training Biology Biotechnology Chemistry Communication Disorders Computer Science Earth Science Environmental Science
Environmental Sustainability Exercise Science Integrated Math and Science Mathematics Nursing Physical Education Public Health Sport Management
NAME CARD If you have lost or forgotten to bring your name card with you, please stop at the table in the Lafayette Tower Entrance lobby to receive a duplicate card. ACADEMIC HOODS Bachelor’s degree candidates will wear their hoods throughout the ceremony. Hoods are draped around your neck. Watch the instructions at http://bit.ly/wpunjhood. TASSEL/HONOR CORDS Wear your tassel on the right side of your cap. If you have a Latin Honors cord, it is to be draped over your shoulders, tassels in the front. For your own safety, please do not throw your cap. CEREMONY PROGRAM The procession will start from the staging areas promptly at 8:40 a.m. Four lines will be processing at the same time by College. Commencement programs will be on your seats in the arena. The ceremony includes: Processional National Anthem Addresses Faculty Excellence Awards President’s Medallion/Honorary Degree
Diploma Process Conferring of Degrees Alma Mater Recessional
DIPLOMA PROCESS Please Note: For safety reasons children are not permitted to process or sit with parents on the arena floor or accompany the parent on stage. Please listen to the directions given by the administrative marshals who will be assisting with this process. During the diploma process your photo will be taken by Grad Images. Three photos will be taken: 1) as you process to the main platform; 2) with your diploma cover in hand; and 3) receiving congratulations from your College Dean. Two lines of students will be processing simultaneously across the platform. At the designated time during the ceremony, your College line will process to the diploma cover area. After receiving your diploma cover, process up the ADA ramps and hand your name card to the reader. After your name is announced please proceed to your College Dean to receive
congratulations and then to a Board of Trustee member and the President to receive congratulations. You will process single file halfway across the stage. Exit the platform by proceeding down the steps at center stage and return to your seat. Please respect your fellow students and their experience of the ceremony. You will receive a diploma cover when crossing the stage. The President will not officially confer your degrees until after all candidates have come forward to be recognized by their Deans. Therefore it is imperative that you return to your seats and to please remain in your seats until the President confers your degrees.
RECESSIONAL PROCESS The singing of the Alma Mater (printed in the program) will immediately follow the conferring of the degrees. The recessional will be led by the University Grand Marshal followed by the Platform Party, the Faculty and then the President. The graduates will follow after. The ceremony is expected to be completed by 12:00 noon. Graduates will exit from the Ford Tower Entrance doors on Lafayette Street.