December 7, 2018
Oakland University will honor its newest graduates (undergraduate, masters and doctoral) during commencement exercises on Saturday, December 15 in the Athletic Center O’rena.
The undergraduate ceremonies will take place at 9 a.m. (School of Business Administration, School of Education and Human Services, School of Health Sciences, and School of Nursing) and 5 p.m. (College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering and Computer Science, and Bachelor of Integrative Studies).
The ceremony for master and doctoral graduates will begin at 1 p.m.
The O’rena will have a “no bag” policy in effect this year. Graduates and their guests must leave all purses and bags at home or in their vehicle. Alcohol, food, beverages, toys, (i.e., beach balls, flying discs, bubbles, or noisemakers) are also not allowed. All cell phones, pagers, and electronic devices must be turned off prior to the start of the procession.
Graduates should arrive at the Recreation Center one hour prior to the start of their ceremony and proceed immediately to the lower level where they will pick up their name card from the registration table. Faculty marshals will be there to direct and assist graduates in lining up (in pairs) for the processional and with questions they may have. When the ceremony is ready to begin, graduates will process into Athletic Center O'rena. Each ceremony will begin promptly at the scheduled time and will last approximately 2 hours.
Graduate Seating
Graduate seating is reserved and tickets are not required. Special accommodations are made for the physically challenged at each ceremony. Contact the Office of the Provost at 248-370-2190 if you have specific seating requirements or if you will need assistance ascending and descending the stage during the ceremony.
Guest Seating
All guests, including children aged 3 and older, must have a guest ticket to enter the O’rena. Children aged 2 and under may share a seat with an adult. Children are welcome to attend; however, it is the parents’ responsibility to keep them seated quietly during the ceremony.
On commencement day, the O'rena will open for guest seating one hour before the start time of the ceremony. All guests are asked to be seated 10 minutes before the ceremony begins. Note: The doors will temporarily close during the processional (at the beginning of the ceremony) and will open again for late guests.
Each of the ceremonies will be interpreted in American Sign Language. Handicapped (wheelchair) accessible seating for guests is available. A handicapped accessible parking lot is located across the street from the O'rena in Lot P16 (see campus map).
Photo Opportunities
Oakland University has contracted with Grad Images, a national photography company, who will photograph each graduate three times during the ceremony; once receiving their diplomas and two walk by commencement portraits. Grad Images will contact each graduate concerning purchasing of photos. There is no fee for the photo sessions. For graduation photography questions contact Grad Images at 800-261-2576.
Honorary Degree Recipients
During its fall 2018 student commencement ceremonies, Oakland University will also recognize the professional, civic and philanthropic contributions of three outstanding individuals with the highest honors it conveys — honorary doctoral degrees.
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| Schnackenberg |
Gjertrud Schnackenberg is an award-winning poet, and the author of Heavenly Questions (2010), The Throne of Labdacus (2000), Supernatural Love: Poems 1976-1992 (2000), A Gilded Lapse of Time (1992), The Lamplit Answer (1985), and Portraits and Elegies (1982).
Her work appears in numerous magazines and journals including The New Yorker and The Yale Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review, Harper’s and Antaeus, and in numerous anthologies and textbooks, including the second edition of The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms, and the fourth and shorter fourth edition of The Norton Anthology of Poetry.
Her awards include the Rome Prize of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, the Berlin Prize from the American Academy of Berlin, and The Brandeis University Creative Arts Citation in Poetry, and she has held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, and a visiting fellowship from St. Catherine’s College at Oxford University. She has given readings at the Library of Congress, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Armand Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, The Royal Festival Hall and the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, and at many colleges and universities across the United States.
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| Van Camp |
John Van Camp retired in May 2018 as the president and CEO of Southwest Solutions after leading the organization for 37 years. He began his career there as an administrative assistant in 1973, a year after the organization opened its doors as a small community mental health agency.
As CEO, Van Camp profoundly expanded the role of Southwest Solutions and its impact in the community. He believed that reintegrating the mentally ill and homeless into the community also required providing decent, affordable housing and support services, and actively participating in neighborhood revitalization and economic development.
In 2018, the National Council presented Van Camp its Visionary Leadership Award. He was named a national “Behavioral Healthcare Champion” and has received a Reinventing Michigan Award, the Wade H. McCree Jr. Award for the Advancement of Social Justice, and many other prestigious honors.
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| Wozniak |
Gary Wozniak is the president and CEO of RecoveryPark, Detroit’s cutting-edge solution that solves three problems: abandoned land, overlooked people, and a lack of accessible, well-paying jobs.
After serving as the chief development officer at SHAR House, Wozniak launched the concept of a farm selling artisanal produce to upscale restaurants that employs vulnerable people, providing a living wage and a supportive work environment. Over 100 partners joined Wozniak to make this scalable, innovative project a reality in Detroit and a model for self-sustaining urban agriculture everywhere.
Now in its eighth year of operations, RecoveryPark remains a testament to Wozniak’s passion for dreaming big and building on intelligent, pragmatic actions.
For more information about the graduation process and commencement ceremonies, visit guidebook.com and download the app to your mobile device.