Traffic alert: 100th commencement ceremony to be held on Saturday, May 14

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Posted: May 12, 2011

Graduates at last year's Spring Commencement
Graduates at last year's Spring Commencement
UH Mānoa’s two Spring 2011 Commencement exercises are scheduled for this Saturday, May 14, at the Stan Sheriff Center.  The undergraduate ceremony is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and should end around noon; the advanced degree ceremony is set for 3-5 p.m.
 
Traffic has been known to back up at H-1 University off-ramps in both directions prior to the ceremony. 
 
Graduates, families, friends, and UH faculty and staff who plan to attend this year’s Commencement should be aware of possible traffic congestion, to approach the campus with caution, and to arrive early to avoid delays and guarantee seating.  
 
Some 2,300 students will earn degrees and certificates for the Spring semester and Summer session. More than 1,500 bachelor candidates are eligible to attend the undergraduate ceremony, while nearly 800 graduate degree candidates (master’s and doctor’s degrees and post-baccalaureate certificates in secondary education) may take part in the afternoon ceremony.
 
Jim Leach, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, will be the featured speaker at the undergraduate ceremony in the morning. Governor of Hawai‘i Neil Abercrombie will be the speaker at the afternoon advanced degree ceremony.  
 
Anticipate slowed traffic and possible tie-ups near the University off-ramp area and on side streets leading to the campus.
 
Doors to the Stan Sheriff Center will open at 7:45 a.m. for the undergraduate ceremony and at 2 p.m. for the advanced degree ceremony. Both events are free and open to the public. No tickets are issued, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Balloons and strollers are not allowed inside the Stan Sheriff Center.
 
Free parking will be available in the parking structure, which will open at 6 a.m.  Parking shuttle service will be provided for the undergraduate ceremony only. No shuttle service will be provided during the advanced degree ceremony. The shuttle buses are wheelchair accessible and run a continuous route from the Biomedical Science Building to Krauss Circle.
 
Friends and family members may greet graduates following the ceremony on the football practice field (surnames A-L) and the soccer practice field (M-Z). Authorized lei vendors will be located in the areas.
 
There will be a live Webcast of the ceremony. For information on the Webcast and additional details about graduation, visit http://manoa.hawaii.edu/commencement.