Stay in step with Commencement

Leading up to its 353rd Commencement, Harvard University will host the following events.

Tuesday (June 8)
11 a.m.: Sanders Theatre, Phi Beta Kappa Literary Exercises. Orator is Niall Ferguson; the poet is David Smith.
2 p.m.: Baccalaureate Service, the Memorial Church.

Wednesday (June 9)
11:30 a.m.: ROTC Commissioning Ceremony on the steps of the Memorial Church, Tercentenary Theatre.
2 p.m.: Tercentenary Theatre, Class Day. Speaker is Ali G.

For the 353rd Harvard Commencement, all morning activities will begin 15 minutes earlier than in the past, from the opening of the Yard gates (6:45 a.m.) to the beginning of the Commencement ceremony (9:45 a.m.). As a result, the Morning Exercises will end at 11:30 a.m. The Commencement Morning Exercises and the afternoon Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association will be televised live for guests who are unable to attend these campus events. The broadcast times are 9-11:30 a.m. and 1:45-4:30 p.m.

Thursday (June 10)
8 a.m.: Senior Chapel in Memorial Church begins.
8:05 a.m.: Formation of advanced degree candidates in the Sever Quad.
8:15 a.m.: Senior Chapel ends. Formation of seniors in the Old Yard.
8:30 a.m.: Alumni procession begins.
8:35 a.m.: Procession of advanced-degree candidates begins.
8:50 a.m.: Academic procession begins. President’s Division begins processing through the open ranks of seniors. Alumni end their procession and take their seats in the Tercentenary Theatre.
9:25 a.m.: President’s Division ends its procession into Tercentenary Theatre.
9:45-11:30 a.m.: Commencement ceremony, Tercentenary Theatre; undergraduate English oration: Kathryn Rakoczy ’04; undergraduate Latin oration: Pankaj K. Agarwalla ’04; graduate English oration: Stephen E. Frank ’95, HLS ’04.
Conferring of degrees and honorary degrees.
Noon: Luncheons and diploma-awarding ceremonies at the undergraduate Houses, and graduate and professional Schools.
1:15 p.m.: Formation of the alumni procession in the Old Yard.
1:30 p.m.: Alumni procession begins.
2:15 p.m.: The annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association in Tercentenary Theatre. Addresses by Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers and Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations.
4 p.m.: The annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association ends.