KU News Release

More than 4,000 grads to take part in KU’s 136th commencement May 18

LAWRENCE — More than 4,000 members of the Class of 2008 are expected to make the traditional walk down Mount Oread and into Memorial Stadium during the University of Kansas’ 136th commencement Sunday, May 18.

Graduates will assemble along Memorial Drive at 2 p.m. They will march into the stadium at 2:30 p.m. Chancellor Robert E. Hemenway will offer remarks and confer degrees beginning at about 3:30 p.m.

About 7,000 students are candidates for degrees in the Class of 2008. The class includes 2,555 students who completed degree requirements in summer and fall 2007.

The tradition of a commencement procession began in 1907 when faculty and graduates walked from old Fraser Hall to the then-new Robinson Gymnasium, where Wescoe Hall is now. The commencement procession moved in 1924 when Memorial Stadium, built in honor of World War I veterans, was completed.

The commencement ceremony will be shown live at Woodruff Auditorium on the fifth level of the Kansas Union. The broadcast is provided for people for whom the physical conditions in Memorial Stadium would be a barrier to their attendance. Commencement also will be broadcast on campus television station KUJH TV-14 (Channel 31 on Lawrence’s Sunflower Cable).

Sign language interpreters will be available in the bowl of the stadium. Reserved seating also will be available for people who need special assistance, including people in wheelchairs. Enter the stadium through Gate D to reach this seating.

The consumption of alcohol and cereal malt beverages on university property is strictly prohibited.

Commencement information and an up-to-date schedule of events are available on the commencement Web site. KU Info can be reached at (785) 864-3506 or kuinfo@ku.edu. The information center's walk-up window on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 17 and 18. The KU Visitor Center, 1502 Iowa St., will be open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 17 and 18.

If it rains the morning of commencement, an announcement will be made at 1 p.m. about arrangements for a postponed ceremony. Announcements will be made through KU Info and local radio stations, including KANU 91.5-FM, KLZR 105.9-FM, KJHK 90.7-FM, KFKF 94.1-FM, KMBZ 980-AM, WIBW 580-AM and KLWN 1320-AM, as well
as Sunflower Cable Channel 6.

If the weather begins to clear in early afternoon, the first attempt to hold a postponed ceremony will be at 4:30 p.m. Graduates will assemble on Memorial Drive at 4 p.m. If the weather does not begin to clear in time for a 4:30 p.m. ceremony, a second attempt will be made at 6:30 p.m. Graduates will assemble on Memorial Drive at 6 p.m.

If it’s still raining, the ceremony will be postponed until Monday, May 19, when graduates will line up at 8:30 a.m. for a 9 a.m. procession.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.