Tom Osborne will be back on familiar turf on May 8. The former Nebraska football coach, athletic director and congressman will deliver the keynote address, “Begin with the End in Mind,” during the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s undergraduate commencement ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
The May exercises will be the first time since December 2019, before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, that the university has held full-fledged commencement ceremonies in person. More than 3,500 degrees will be conferred during ceremonies May 7 and 8.
So that graduates and their guests can maintain proper distancing, undergraduates will be divided into two groups for separate ceremonies at Memorial Stadium. Students from the following colleges will participate in the morning ceremony:
- College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
- College of Architecture
- College of Business
- College of Journalism and Mass Communications
- Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts
- UNO College of Public Affairs and Community Service
Students from the following colleges will participate in the afternoon ceremony:
- College of Arts and Sciences
- College of Education and Human Sciences
- College of Engineering
- The College of Law commencement ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. May 7 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Doctoral and master’s degrees will be conferred by the Office of Graduate Studies at 4 p.m. May 7, also at the arena.
Jennifer Clarke, professor of food science and technology, and statistics, and director of the Quantitative Life Sciences Initiative at Nebraska, will give the address at the graduate and professional degrees ceremony. Riko Bishop, a judge of the Nebraska Court of Appeals, will speak to the law graduates. Chancellor Ronnie Green will preside over the commencement ceremonies.
The university is partnering with the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department to ensure proper social distancing between attendees to minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission. Graduates and their guests will be required to wear face coverings at all times while inside the commencement venues. All graduate and public seating will be socially distanced.
Because of the need to maintain distancing, these events will be limited to May 2021 graduates and their guests. Future ceremonies will be offered to 2020 graduates who wish to return to campus for an in-person celebration of their degrees. Graduates must have signed up to attend commencement. To help protect participants and their guests, COVID-19 saliva testing will be required of all participating students, faculty and staff who will be on the field or arena floor.
All graduates must receive a negative COVID-19 test result in the one to three days prior to their ceremony. Vaccination status is not a factor; all participating graduates must be tested. “Building access granted” status on the SaferCommunity app or a building access pass from the online testing portal is required for entrance. For more details, including required testing dates and information on exemptions, visit https://go.unl.edu/74e6. Testing questions can be sent to covid19@unl.edu. Testing is not required for regular guests.
To maintain a secure environment, Memorial Stadium and Pinnacle Bank Arena enforce a clear-bag policy that limits the size and type of bag that may be brought into the venues. Details are available at https://go.unl.edu/clearbags. To avoid inconveniences, guests are encouraged to arrive early and travel light.
Tickets are required for all guests at Memorial Stadium. All tickets are free and will be accessible on mobile devices. Each graduate could request up to eight tickets, which can only be accessed by the student through Huskers.com with a unique password. Guests should use the west entrances, with seating limited to West Stadium. Students will be seated on the field. Guests will not be allowed on the field at any point during commencement. They may meet up with graduates outside the gates of Memorial Stadium after the ceremonies.
Handicap seating is available on the apron of the West Stadium bowl with an appropriate ticket. The entrance is Gate 3. Open captioning for people with hearing impairment will be provided on the ribbon boards. First aid will be at the northwest station on the north concourse for guests and the southeast field-level station for those on the field.
Free parking is available with no permit needed (except for handicap visitors) in City Campus parking garages and surface lots, unless otherwise marked. Guests are encouraged to park on the west side of Memorial Stadium for easier access to guest entrances.