Yale University’s 301st Commencement events will be held Sunday, May 26, and Monday, May 27, on the Yale campus.
All media members must obtain and display Yale media credentials during Class Day (Sunday) and Commencement (Monday) ceremonies on Old Campus for access to the news media platform. Please fax credential requests on your organization’s letterhead to Yale Office of Public Affairs, (203) 432-1323. Reserved credentials may be picked up from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, May 20-24. The Office of Public Affairs is located at 265 Church Street, 9th floor, corner of Church and Grove streets. Commencement information is also available on the Web at: http://www.yale.edu/commencement
SUNDAY, MAY 26
Baccalaureate Address: At 11 a.m. in Woolsey Hall, at the northwest corner of Grove and College streets, Yale President Richard C. Levin will deliver the Baccalaureate Address to graduating Yale College seniors and their families. Members of the news media are invited to attend. Television camera crews may cover the Baccalaureate Address from the balcony to the immediate right of the stage. Space for camera crews can only be made available if it is reserved before Friday, May 24, 5 p.m., by contacting the Office of Public Affairs at (203) 432-1333.
Class Day, an event organized by Yale College seniors, begins at 2 p.m. on the lawn of Old Campus, which is bordered by Elm, College, Chapel and High streets. The Yale College Class Day speaker on Sunday will be New York Governor George E. Pataki, a 1967 graduate of Yale College.
The Class Day program also includes traditional events such as planting the Class Ivy and reciting the Ivy Ode; awarding teaching prizes to faculty members and academic prizes to students; singing Yale’s alma mater, “Bright College Years,” while waving the traditional white handkerchief; and delivery of a humorous class history.
Reporters may cover Class Day events from the news media platform to the left of the stage, on the High Street side of Old Campus. There will be a mult-box for radio/television crews. A BNC video feed from Yale’s dedicated camera in front of the stage will provide a head-on camera angle.
MONDAY, MAY 27
Commencement exercises on Old Campus are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., when all graduates have reached their seats (Comcast is scheduled to broadcast Commencement live on cable channel 8). Reporters who wish to cover the graduation procession to Old Campus may do so from Cross Campus, which is bounded by Elm, High, Wall and College streets. College seniors and candidates for graduate degrees will begin to assemble there at 9:30 a.m. At about 10 a.m., the procession will begin to move through Noah Porter Gate on Elm Street toward the New Haven Green.
Joining the procession on the Green will be honorary degree recipients and members of the Yale administration and governing board. The procession enters Old Campus through Phelps Gateway on College Street. Candidates for graduate and professional degrees enter Old Campus from Elm and High streets.
Once the procession has begun, police will not allow anyone who is not an official member of the procession to enter Old Campus through Phelps Gateway until after the procession has passed. Media should use the High Street gates to enter Old Campus and access the media platform. All reporters, photographers and camera crews must cover Commencement from the news media platform, where video and audio feeds will be available. Access to the platform requires a Yale media credential.
Information about the number of degrees being granted, the names of those receiving honorary degrees and other awards being presented will be provided. Yale announces honorary degree recipients at the Commencement ceremony. Each of Yale College’s 12 residential colleges and the graduate and professional schools holds a diploma ceremony following the main Commencement exercises. These ceremonies are held in the courtyards of each college, at the graduate and professional schools and at other locations noted in the program and on the Yale Web site.
