Graduating students celebrated at last fall's undergraduate ceremony. Photo by Christopher Gannon.
An estimated 1,809 students are completing their Iowa State University degrees this semester and will celebrate their accomplishments during two commencement ceremonies this weekend at Hilton Coliseum. Tickets are not needed for either event. Both ceremonies will be livestreamed.
Schwartz
An estimated 224 master's and 94 doctoral students will be honored during the Graduate College's ceremony at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15. Adam Schwartz, director of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Ames National Laboratory for the last 10 years, will address the graduates. Schwartz also is professor of materials science and engineering at Iowa State. Previously, he spent nearly 23 years as a materials science researcher and administrator at the DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California.
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine professional students graduate as a class once a year, in May.
Neuhold-Ravikumar
An estimated 1,491 bachelor's degree recipients will be honored during a 1:30 p.m. ceremony Saturday, Dec. 16. Alumna Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar, who stepped down last month as president of the Kansas City Art Institute, will give the address. Prior to her work at the art institute, she served for five years in administration roles at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and New York City; and for 13 years in the College of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond.
College celebrations
Iowa State's six undergraduate colleges will honor their students during college receptions and convocations Dec. 15-16:
- Engineering, by department, various start times and campus locations, Friday and Saturday
- Agriculture and Life Sciences, 9 a.m. Friday, Hilton Coliseum, livestream
- Human Sciences, 1 p.m. Friday, Stephens Auditorium, livestream
- Business, 4 p.m. Friday, Hilton Coliseum, livestream
- Liberal Arts and Sciences, 4 p.m. Friday, Stephens Auditorium, livestream
- Design, 5 p.m. Friday, 101 Design (auditorium), livestream
Parking
Commencement participants and guests may park in available lots at the Iowa State Center with one exception. Lot C2, between Hilton Coliseum and Center Drive, is reserved for handicap parking. CYTown construction temporarily closed lots A4-5 and B4-5 at the south end. Campus lots 56 and 63, north of the Maple Willow Larch residence halls, also are available for graduation guests. For their safety, guests who park there are asked to cross Lincoln Way at the Beach Avenue crosswalk.
Another round for caps and gowns
Bachelor's degree recipients who purchased a cap and gown for their ceremony and would like to help low-income future Cyclone graduates dress for their big day can donate their cap and gown after the ceremony. STORIES, a universitywide program to meet the basic needs of students who experienced foster care or homelessness, is sponsoring the collection. The drop-off site at Hilton is in the southeast corner of the concourse on Saturday only. Drop-off boxes for recycling will be inside the Memorial Union west entrance and Student Services Building north entrance through Thursday, Dec. 21.
