Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be the speaker and presiding authority at the Brigham Young University April 2010 Commencement ceremonies Thursday, April 22, at 4 p.m. in the Marriott Center.
The exercises will be conducted by Elder Cecil O. Samuelson, president of BYU and a member of the Quorum of the Seventy of the Church. Representatives from the BYU Board of Trustees will be present, including Church Commissioner of Education Paul V. Johnson and Relief Society General President Julie B. Beck. BYU Alumni Association President Chris Feinauer will speak to the graduates.
Brian Wright will represent the students during the exercises. Wright is graduating in Russian and physiology and developmental biology with honors. A special vocal musical number will be provided by Shea and Amy Owens, a married couple who are graduating from the School of Music.
The exercises will be broadcast live on KBYU-TV (Channel 11) and KBYU-FM (89.1).
Graduates will meet at 3 p.m. in the Abraham Smoot Building parking lot 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., and live coverage of the pre-commencement activities will be broadcast on the Marriott Center screens. The graduate processional will begin at 3:20 p.m., weather permitting.
Most campus offices will close Thursday at 2:30 p.m. to accommodate the services.
Members of the BYU community are reminded that no parking will be available from midnight until 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in Lot 1A north of the Abraham Smoot Building and in a small portion of the timed parking in Lot 2A north of the Museum of Art. Vehicles parked in those locations during those hours will be towed.
All faculty members are invited to march in the processional at 3:15 p.m. Faculty should be on either the east or west side of the ASB by 3 p.m. In the event of inclement weather, faculty should go directly to the Marriott Center by 3:30 p.m. Line marshals will direct faculty to reserved chair seating on the playing floor.
The BYU Air Force ROTC will be hosting its commissioning ceremony Thursday at 11 a.m. in the Varsity Theatre. Fifteen cadets are being commissioned. Maj. Gen. James G. Andrus, retired, will be the keynote speaker at the event. Andrus entered the Air Force in 1962 after graduating from BYU’s AFROTC program. He went on to direct U.S. units based in the United Kingdom, Italy and in multiple U.S. locations.
The Army ROTC will be commissioning 12 cadets Thursday, April 22, at 11 a.m. in the patio at the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center. (In case of inclement weather, it will move to 214 Crabtree Building.) Kenneth L. Alford, associate professor of Church history and doctrine and a retired colonel in the U.S. Army, will be the speaker. Alford served in active duty for nearly 30 years. While in the army he taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. He conducts research in LDS participation in 20th-century military conflicts and the Utah War.
This year’s commencement will feature BYU’s first cohort graduating with a master’s of religious education degree for chaplains. That convocation will be Friday at 8 a.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center. The convocation speaker will be Elder Robert C. Oaks, a retired four-star Air Force general, an emeritus member of the Quorum of the Seventy and chair of the Church's Military Advisory Committee.
On Friday, April 23, President Samuelson will be hosting the “Meet the President” event. Graduates and their parents are invited to meet the president and his wife at the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center Assembly Hall from 9 to 11 a.m.
Individual college convocations for Friday, April 23, are as follows:
8 to 10:30 a.m.
- Life Sciences — Marriott Center
- 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
- Engineering and Technology (Technology Department) — Provo Tabernacle, 100 S., University Ave., Provo
11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- Humanities — Marriott Center
- Engineering and Technology (Engineering Department) — Smith Fieldhouse
- Nursing — Joseph Smith Building Auditorium
- Family, Home and Social Sciences (School of Family Life) — Wilkinson Student Center Ballroom
- Fine Arts and Communications (Theatre and Media Arts, Music/Dance/Theatre) — de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center
2 to 4:30 p.m.
- Family, Home and Social Sciences (All except School of Family Life) — Marriott Center
- Law School — Provo Tabernacle, 100 S., University Ave., Provo, Utah.
5 to 7:30 p.m.
- Marriott School of Management — Marriott Center
For additional information and updates, visit graduation.byu.edu.
Writer: Brandon Garrett
