May 2013 News
Same day stories and photos from the 2013 commencement ceremony, to be held May 11, 2013 in the historic Grove, will be posted here and on news.olemiss.edu. Check back in May for additional information, stories about graduates and more.
View 2013 Commencement Invitation (PDF)
Read about Senior Class Gift
Sharyn Alfonsi Named Commencement Speaker for Journalism School
Myrlie Evers-Williams’ Commencement Address Full of Memorable Moments
View 2013 Commencement Program
Welcome
The University of Mississippi Chancellor, faculty and staff extend our warmest welcome to the students, parents, grandparents, families and friends who plan to attend the 160th Commencement to be held at Ole Miss on May 11, 2013.
Commencement is a time-honored tradition that recognizes the outstanding work and achievements of our students and faculty. We invite you to join us on this special day as we congratulate our graduating students on their academic success and urge them to use that knowledge to positively impact our state, nation and world.
Please check this website frequently. Updates on everything from ordering cap and gown to where to park on the actual day will be added throughout the spring semester.
UM Museum will offer complimentary admission to all visitors this Friday and Saturday for commencement.
View Graduation Tips document before you attend the ceremonies.
Morning Convocation
When: 9 a.m. on May 11, 2013
Where: Grove
The morning convocation, which convenes in the historic Grove is attended by about 2,800 degree candidates in academic regalia. More than 10,000 seats are set up in the Grove for visitors and families and are filled on a first-come basis.
Myrlie Evers Williams, who is known both as a journalist and a civil rights activist, will deliver the keynote at the morning ceremony. The individual ceremonies of the College of Liberal Arts, School of Law, School of Engineering, School of Education, School of Business Adminstration, Patterson School of Accountancy, School of Pharmacy, School of Applied Sciences, and the Meek School of Journalism and New Media are held at various locations throughout campus after the morning convocation. Individual diplomas will be awarded at these ceremonies.
On Friday, May 10, at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College will hold its commissioning ceremony at 4 p.m., and the doctoral hooding ceremony will take place at 7:30 p.m. also in the Ford Center.
Speaker
Myrlie Evers-Williams is perhaps best known as the widow of Medgar Evers, the Mississippi state field secretary for the NAACP who in 1963 was gunned down in the driveway of his Jackson home. She waged a painstaking battle to keep her husband's memory and dreams alive and valiantly lobbied to bring his killer to justice. Her diligence eventually paid off when the assassin was brought to trial for a third time and finally, in 1994, was found guilty of the murder, more than 30 years after the crime.
She was the first black woman to head the Southern California Democratic Women's Division and was convener of the National Women's Political Caucus. She also served as chairman of the NAACP in 1995-1998 and is widely credited with saving the organization from financial difficulties, scandal and controversy.
As an author, Evers-Williams has captured the work and historical significance of the civil rights movement through several publications chronicling the life of Medgar Evers. In 1967, she co-wrote "For Us, the Living," with William Peters; and in 2006, with co-author Manning Marable, she penned "The Autobiography of Medgar Evers: A Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters and Speeches."
In 1999, she published her personal memoirs, "Watch Me Fly: What I Learned on the Way to Becoming the Woman I Was Meant to Be," which charts her journey from being the wife of an activist to becoming a community leader in her own right.
In January 2012, she was invited to return as distinguished scholar-in-residence at Alcorn University in Lorman. Evers-Williams continues the course of the Medgar Evers Institute and will spearhead the 50th commemoration of her late husband's assassination later this year.
Myrlie Evers-Williams’ Commencement Address Full of Memorable Moments
History and Background
Known affectionately as Ole Miss, the University of Mississippi opened its doors to 80 students in 1848. For 23 years it was Mississippi's only public institution of higher learning. For 110 years, it was the state's only comprehensive university.
Mississippi's flagship university established the fourth state-supported law school in the nation (1854) and was one of the first in the nation to offer engineering education (1854). It was one of the first in the South to admit women (1882) and the first to hire a female faculty member (1885).
Since its first class of 80 students, Ole Miss has grown to a doctoral degree-granting university with 15 academic divisions and 18,000 students. In all, more than 100 programs of study today offer superior academic experiences that provide each graduate with the background necessary for a lifetime of scholastic, social and professional growth.
Read more on University of Mississippi history, tradition and symbols of heraldry
Schedule
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General Information
View map(PDF) to find your way around University of Mississippi campus.
For more information and a list of frequently asked questions visit our FAQ page.
2013 Commencement Timeline
Below is a month-by-month timeline for all students participating in commencement on Saturday, May 11th, 2013. While some of the steps are mandatory for graduation, all of them are encouraged. Refer to this timeline as a guide, aimed at making this important process as simple as possible. Lastly, check this website often for additions and updates.
January, February, March, April, May, June
Restrooms
In addition to the Ceremony facilities, the following buildings and restrooms in these buildings will be available to our guests during Commencement:
Carrier Hall, Hume Hall, Coulter Hall, Lyceum, Farley Hall, Shoemaker, Faser Hall, Student Union
Students and Graduates
Information
Checklist of Steps
Find out about your cap and gown
Line up information
Parking Map
FAQ
Schedule
Commencement Ceremony Rain Plan (PDF)
Where and when to pick up cap and gown?
Wednesday, May 8 through Friday, May 10, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Union Ballroom)
Saturday, May 11, 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. (Union Ballroom)
If you are graduating with Honors: Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, or Cum Laude, your academic college/school will have your honors cords. Please pick them up from your academic college/school. If unsure where to pick up items from your academic college/school, contact the Dean’s office.
Academic Regalia
All degree candidates must wear academic regalia (caps and gowns) to Commencement Morning Convocation. Regalia may be ordered through the Ole Miss Bookstore for distribution in May. Degree candidates will receive ordering instructions from the Registrar's Office.
In order to distinguish degree-candidates and graduates, it is tradition for the individual to wear the color associated with his or her field of study. These colors are displayed on doctor's gown, edging of hoods and tassels on caps. Listed are the traditional color assignments for the various academic disciplines. Due to the university's new fields of study, General Studies and Journalism/IMC have been added to the list.
Staff and Faculty
Information
Student line up information
Schedule
Find out about your cap and gown
Parking Map
FAQ
Parking and Transportation
Schedule
Faculty line up and inclement weather procedures
Where and when to pick up cap and gown?
Wednesday, May 8 through Friday, May 10, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Union Ballroom)
Saturday, May 11, 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. (Union Ballroom)
Academic Regalia
All degree candidates must wear academic regalia (caps and gowns) to Commencement Morning Convocation. Regalia may be ordered through the Ole Miss Bookstore for distribution in May. Degree candidates will receive ordering instructions from the Registrar's Office.
In order to distinguish degree-candidates and graduates, it is tradition for the individual to wear the color associated with his or her field of study. These colors are displayed on doctor's gown, edging of hoods and tassels on caps. Listed are the traditional color assignments for the various academic disciplines. Due to the university's new fields of study, General Studies and Journalism/IMC have been added to the list.
Parking and Transportation
For guests not requiring ADA parking, we recommend parking in the parking lots designated for the school/college ceremony you will attend AFTER the Convocation concludes. View items that indicate the designated parking for each ceremony and venue location.
Shuttle and Guest Transportation Service
Shuttles on Saturday, May 11, will include University golf carts with variety of seating options and 8 and 12 person passenger vehicles. All vehicles will have a sign displaying drop-off/pick-up destination.
IPF Ceremonies (for those not needing ADA parking):
From IPF Ceremony Parking at South Lot to Tent set up across Manning Way (Southeast Corner of IPF building/near Track field). Shuttle service coordinated by University Police Department (UPD).
View full parking and transportation information in a PDF format.
Read information on RV Parking.
ADA Parking
The university's Department of Parking and Transportation (DPT) will offer a limited shuttle service that will be available Saturday, May 11 to assist people with disabilities and the elderly. The headquarters for this service will be at the DPT tent on the corner across the street from the Grove in front of Coulter Hall.
You may call 662-915-7235 to request assistance.
We have identified ADA/Handicap parking areas for both the morning Grove Convocation ceremony AND for each of the college/school ceremonies.
Shuttle and Guest Transportation Service
Shuttles will be primarily for those with special needs, not for the general public. Shuttles will include university golf carts with a variety of seating options and/or eight and 12-person passenger vehicles.
View full parking and transportation information in a PDF format.
Inclement Weather
In the event of inclement weather, a decision to move the ceremony will be made by Saturday, May 11 at 8 a.m. If moved, the morning commencement ceremony will be held at 9:30 a.m. at Tad Smith Coliseum, and there will NOT be a processional.
Platform party members should report to the Coliseum media area. All attendees (faculty, staff, graduates and families) should report to the Coliseum.
Graduates should sit with their families and should be seated in the chairs on the Coliseum floor.
Faculty will sit in Section A.
How will the university announce implementation of the inclement weather plan?
- A RebAlert text message will be sent to those who have registered their cell phone numbers.
- The information will be posted on the UM web site.
- A blast email will be sent to students, faculty and staff.
- Signs will be posted on the Grove stage.
- You may call 662-915-1040 to hear a recorded message.
What about the individual school and college ceremonies?
If the Grove commencement ceremony is moved to Tad Smith Coliseum because of rain, all other School or College commencement ceremonies will also take place at the rain locations.
Commencement Ceremony Rain Plan (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions
Most popular questions:
What is the difference between morning convocation and the individual school ceremonies?
The university's Commencement ceremonies are divided into two parts: the morning convocation and the individual school ceremonies. Graduates and their families are strongly encouraged to attend both.
The morning convocation, set for 9 a.m. in the Grove, is the campuswide celebration of graduation. Students and faculty, dressed in academic regalia, march into the Grove behind the banners of the university's respective schools and the College of Liberal Arts for a ceremony that includes university awards and the main commencement speaker. At this ceremony, the chancellor confers authority to present diplomas to the individual schools.
At the school ceremonies, which take place throughout the rest of the day in various locations across campus, the College of Liberal Arts and individual schools present their own awards and recognize each graduate individually. It is at these ceremonies that each graduate's name is called, and he or she is presented with a diploma cover.
Diplomas will be mailed June or July for insertion into the diploma cover.
Where and when to pick up cap and gown?
Wednesday, May 8 through Friday, May 10, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Union Ballroom)
Saturday, May 11, 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. (Union Ballroom)
If you are graduating with Honors: Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, or Cum Laude, your academic college/school will have your honors cords. Please pick them up from your academic college/school. If unsure where to pick up items from your academic college/school, contact the Dean’s office.
View a full FAQ page to find more answers to your questions.
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