College graduations are back this weekend. What you need to know for Triangle schools.
Thousands of families will be heading to college campuses across the Triangle this weekend to celebrate the graduates of the Class of 2022.
The tradition is back in full swing this year, with in-person commencement ceremonies and speakers at UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University, Duke University, North Carolina Central University and other local schools.
Here’s what you need to know about how to enjoy graduation festivities — or avoid traffic and crowded restaurants — in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.
UNC-Chapel Hill
The Tar Heels will turn their tassels in Kenan Stadium on Sunday, May 8. The commencement ceremony starts at 9 a.m.
Students don’t need to register or reserve tickets for family members since the ceremony will be outside in the football stadium. The event will be live-streamed at https://commencement.unc.edu/livestream-2021/ for those participating or watching virtually.
The UNC commencement speaker is Frank Bruni, a Duke professor, bestselling author and distinguished New York Times journalist, who started his career at The Daily Tar Heel. Bruni, a Carolina alumnus, was originally invited to speak at the 2020 Commencement Ceremony that was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s back to share words of wisdom with this group of graduates.
Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz will give out three honorary degrees:
▪ Chief Judge Algenon L. Marbley ‘76, the first African-American to serve as a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
▪ Millie Ravenel, founding Executive Director of the North Carolina Center for International Understanding.
▪ Eddie Smith Jr. ‘65, chairman and CEO of Grady-White Boats, Inc. based in Greenville.
Individual school and departmental ceremonies, where student names will be called, start Thursday and will run throughout the weekend. The full schedule is available online.
The Graduate School’s Hooding Ceremony will be held in the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday, May 7 at 9 a.m.
NC State University
North Carolina State’s Class of 2022 will celebrate graduation with a commencement ceremony at PNC Arena in Raleigh on Saturday, May 7, at 9 a.m. NCSU doctoral candidates will walk across the stage, and all other students will stand to be recognized with their classmates.
Students need to RSVP for the event, but their families and friends do not need tickets to come to the ceremony. For those attending, don’t forget about the clear bag policy. NC State will also live-stream the event at go.ncsu.edu/WatchCommencement and the NC State Facebook page.
NCSU alumnus Mohamed L. Mansour, an international business leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist, will give the commencement address. Mansour serves as the chairman of the global conglomerate Mansour Group, the investment firm Man Capital LLP and the Lead Foundation in Egypt.
Anna Jump, who is earning a bachelor’s degree in leadership in the public sector, will also give a speech to her fellow graduates.
Chancellor Randy Woodson will give Brian Harry, who studied electrical and computer engineering at NCSU, an honorary degree. Harry helped build one of the first electronic mail systems for personal computers.
The individual department and college ceremonies will run throughout the weekend, starting Thursday. A more detailed schedule is available online.
Duke University
Duke University graduates will be honored on Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium on Sunday, May 8. Duke’s commencement ceremony for the three graduating classes of this academic year begins at 9 a.m. and is open to the public.
Duke students can attend Baccalaureate Services at Duke Chapel with a sermon by Reverend Dr. Luke Powery on Friday, May 6 at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 7 at 11:30 a.m.
Many academic departments will host ceremonies and gatherings Sunday afternoon following the university-wide event.
General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra will give Duke’s commencement speech. Barra is the first woman to lead a major auto company and has been named among the “Most Powerful Women in Business” published by Forbes and Fortune magazines. She is a member of Duke’s board of trustees and received an honorary degree from Duke in 2018.
President Vincent Price will give four individuals honorary degrees:
▪ Sylvia Acevedo, a nonprofit leader and NASA rocket scientist, currently serves on the board of Qualcomm and was previously CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA.
▪ Akinwumi A. Adesina, a globally renowned development economist and agricultural development expert, is the 8th elected president of the African Development Bank Group.
▪ Patrick Brown, founder and chief visionary officer of Impossible Foods, came up with the idea for the company while on sabbatical as a professor of biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine.
▪ Tom Catena, a Duke Medical School alumnus, is the medical director and only surgeon at Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains of central Sudan.
NC Central University
North Carolina Central University will celebrate undergraduates with a commencement ceremony on Friday, May 6 at 8 a.m. and graduate and professional students on Saturday, May 7 at 8 a.m.
Students will walk across the stage at in McDougald-McLendon Arena, due to weather, and stream live on the university’s website, Facebook page and NCCU’s YouTube channel.
Tickets are not required for guests to attend the outdoor event.
This year, the law school will not have its own ceremony, and Chancellor Johnson O. Akinleye will confer degrees to all graduate and professional students.
NCCU alumna Agnes Moss, founder and president of the National Black Movie Association, will give the keynote address to undergraduates on Friday. Through her organization, Moss offers community programs, resources and professional development opportunities to elevate Black filmmakers and promote equity in film education.
Former City of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will speak during the graduate and professional ceremony on Saturday. Bottoms, also an HBCU graduate, is the only mayor in Atlanta’s history to have served in all three branches of government, serving as a judge and city council member before being elected mayor.
The university will honor seven individuals who were involved in the historic “Royal Ice Cream Sit-In” in Durham. Mary Clyburn Hooks, Virginia Williams, the late Rev. Douglas Moore, the late Claude Glenn, the late Melvin Willis, the late Vivian Jones and the late Jesse Gray will receive Doctor of Humane Letters for participating in the peaceful protest that led to a court case challenging separate accommodations in the South, according to NCCU.
Shaw University
Shaw University will host a commencement ceremony for graduates on Sunday, May 8 in the Raleigh Convention Center at 9:00 a.m.
Dr. Michael Ugwueke, president and CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, will give the commencement speech. He is a Shaw alumnus and university trustee.
William Peace University
William Peace University graduates will celebrate at an in-person commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 7 at 9:30 a.m. on the university main lawn. The university will also host a Baccalaureate service for students at Holy Trinity Church at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 6.
WPU’s commencement speaker is Sepideh Saidi, founder and CEO of SEPI, Inc., a civil engineering firm headquartered in Raleigh.
Meredith College
Meredith College will hold two in-person commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2022 on Saturday, May 14 at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Graduates will gather in the courtyard area outside Johnson Hall.
Saint Augustine’s University
Saint Augustine’s University hosted commencement ceremony for its graduates last week, on Saturday, April 30, at the George Williams Athletic Complex in Raleigh. The school also hosted a baccalaureate and honor cord service at Saint Augustine’s Chapel on Wednesday, April 27.
Goldie S. Byrd, professor and director of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, delivered the commencement address.
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 11:32 AM with the headline "College graduations are back this weekend. What you need to know for Triangle schools.."
