Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be the speaker and conducting authority at the Brigham Young University August 2011 Commencement ceremonies Thursday, Aug. 11, at 4 p.m. in the Marriott Center.
The exercises will be conducted by Elder Cecil O. Samuelson, president of BYU and also a member of the Quorum of the Seventy of the Church. They will be joined on the stand by members of the BYU administration and other Church leaders.
Chelsea Johnson Kennedy, a native of La Crescenta, CA, and an honors graduate in mathematics, will be the student speaker. A musical number will be given by Danielle Priest from San Antonio, TX, who will be an August graduate in flute performance. She will perform “Come Thou Fount” accompanied by Jed Moss.
The exercises will be broadcast live on KBYU-TV (Channel 11), BYU Television and KBYU-FM (89.1).
Graduates should assemble at 3 p.m. in the Abraham Smoot Building parking lots prior to the processional, while parents and family should be seated in the Marriott Center by 3:15 p.m. The doors at the Marriott Center will open at 2 p.m. The graduate processional will begin at 3:15 p.m.
As a courtesy to other participants, graduates and family members are encouraged to refrain from using cellular phones when in the Marriott Center.
All faculty members are invited to march in the processional at 3:15 p.m. Faculty should be on either the east or west of the ASB by 3:10 p.m. In the event of inclement weather, faculty should go directly to the Marriott Center by 3:45 p.m. Line marshals will direct faculty to reserved chair seating on the playing floor.
Most campus offices will close Thursday at 2:30 p.m. to accommodate the services.
Please be aware also that there will be no parking in the lots north of the ASB Thursday, Aug. 11, from midnight Wednesday to 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Vehicles parked in this location during those hours will be towed.
August graduates are advised that the Tour of Utah bike race Thursday, Aug. 11, will require restricted traffic on 900 East in Provo from approximately 1 to 3 p.m., and possibly later. Graduates and their families who are planning on attending the Commencement Exercises at 4 p.m. in the Marriott Center should avoid using 900 East until after the exercises.
Also, please note that the construction project creating a utility tunnel from the Harris Fine Arts Center to the new residence halls will still be underway during both days. North and East Campus Drive will be restricted to one lane each way, so graduates and their families are encouraged to use alternate routes via 900 East to access Friday’s Wilkinson Student Center and Harris Fine Arts Center College Convocations and to arrive early.
For more information about campus traffic, contact Greg Barber of University Police at (801) 367-7213.
The Army ROTC will be commissioning two BYU cadets Thursday at 11 a.m. in the Utah Valley University Ragen Theatre. Cadets Derek Rose and Aubree Johnson will be commissioned at the ceremony and Judge Anthony Terry will be the keynote speaker. Judge Terry is a senior judge at the Utah Fourth judicial district. He is also a political science professor at UVU and an alumnus of the Army ROTC program.
On Friday, Aug. 12, President Samuelson will be hosting the “Meet the President” event. Graduates and their parents are invited to meet the president and his wife Sharon at the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center Assembly Hall from 9:30 to 11 a.m.
The BYU Air Force ROTC will host its commissioning ceremony Friday, Aug. 12, at 3 p.m. in the Wilkinson Student Center Memorial Hall. Cadets Andrew DeWitt and Stephen Graff will commissioned at the ceremony, and Maj. Alan Hanks will be the keynote speaker for the event. Hanks is the executive officer and assistant professor of aerospace studies at Air Force ROTC, Detachment 855.
Individual college convocations for Friday, Aug. 12, are as follows:
8 to 10:30 a.m.
- Marriott School of Management — Marriott Center
- David O. McKay School of Education — Smith Fieldhouse
- David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies — Joseph Smith Building Auditorium
- Physical and Mathematical Sciences — Wilkinson Student Center Ballroom
- Fine Arts and Communications — de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center
11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- Life Sciences — Marriott Center
- Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology —Smith Fieldhouse
- Nursing — Joseph Smith Building Auditorium
2 to 4:30 p.m.
- Humanities — Marriott Center
5 to 7:30 p.m.
- Family, Home and Social Sciences — Marriott Center
For additional information and updates, visit graduation.byu.edu.
Follow BYU events on Twitter: @BYUcalendar.
Writer: Mel Gardner
