Weekend Information

Baccalaureate Ceremony

The Baccalaureate Ceremony, traditionally the opening ceremony of Commencement Weekend, will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 22, in front of Old West on the John Dickinson Campus.

Those who have difficulty walking or who use a wheelchair may be dropped off at the circular drive behind Old West on West Louther Street.

If the Baccalaureate Ceremony is moved to the Kline Athletic Center because of inclement weather, the drop-off site will be the circular drive on West High Street. 

Commencement Ceremony

Commencement will begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 23, in front of Old West on the John Dickinson Campus.

The Commencement speaker will be Jon Meacham. He is the editor of Newsweek and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, he has written and commented extensively on politics, history, and religion in America. He graduated summa cum laude from Sewanee: The University of the South and has received honorary Doctor of Human Letters degrees from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University and Loyola College. In addition to his responsibilities at Newsweek, Meacham is a contributing editor for The Washington Monthly and a member of Sewanee’s Board of Regents as well as the Harvard Divinity School’s Leadership Council.

Several thousand chairs will be available. Reserved seating will be roped off for the graduates, faculty and those who require accessible seating. All remaining seating is open and may be held after 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning after college personnel have designated the reserved seating sections. There is no limit to the number of guests per student that may attend this ceremony, and no tickets are necessary.

Those who have difficulty walking or who use a wheelchair may be dropped off at the circular drive behind Old West on West Louther Street.

A limited number of special-seating tickets for those who have difficulty walking or who need wheelchair access may be obtained by contacting Dottie Warner in the Office of Conferences & Special Events at 717-245-1900 after May 3. We regret that, because of limited space, we can only accommodate one companion with the individual needing special seating.

A live broadcast of Commencement will be shown on large projection screens in various campus buildings. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis and all sites are handicapped accessible. A list of locations will be available during the weekend. For family and friends who cannot travel to Carlisle, a live video feed of the Commencement Ceremony will be available on the Dickinson site at www.dickinson.edu/commencement (unless severe weather moves the ceremony indoors).

During the Commencement Ceremony, professional photographers hired by the college will take photographs of graduates as they receive their diplomas, and a professional firm will record the ceremony. You will be mailed information about purchasing photos and the DVD later this spring.

Some family members may want to take additional pictures as the students’ diplomas are presented. A raised platform near the stage will be designated as a photo area. You will be able to see the graduates come down the stone steps in alphabetical order, and college personnel will be stationed adjacent to the photo area to help you move onto the platform shortly before your graduate receives his or her diploma. Your cooperation in moving quickly will allow other families to have the same opportunity. 

Following Commencement, there will be a college-sponsored brunch in the Holland Union Building (HUB). All graduates and their families are welcome to attend. Each student may pick up five free tickets for this event in the Office of Conferences & Special Events. Additional tickets also may be purchased in that office or in Dining Services.

At the request of past graduates and parents, we will not roll the actual diplomas. The original diplomas will be available for pick-up by the graduate or a family member on Britton Plaza (or, in the case of inclement weather, in Biddle House) immediately following Commencement. Please be sure to pick them up by 2 p.m.

A severe-weather plan will be used only in the case of thunder, lightning, high winds, hail or other conditions that make it unsafe to hold Commencement outside. Rain alone does not constitute severe weather. If the severe-weather plan is used, an announcement will be made by 7 a.m. on Sunday on the college’s home page, www.dickinson.edu. If in doubt, you may call 717-245-1900 for information. If severe weather occurs, the schedule will be adjusted to reflect the change in location, and the ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Kline Athletic Center.

No animals other than guide dogs will be permitted at any events throughout the weekend.

Flowers will be available for purchase from a local flower shop on Saturday and Sunday at the college bookstore in the lower level of the HUB.