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Elder M. Russell Ballard to speak at BYU Commencement Aug. 13

Elder M. Russell Ballard 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 Commencement Exercises Thursday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m. in the Marriott Center.

Elder Cecil O. Samuelson, a member of the Quorum of the Seventy of the Church and BYU president, will conduct the service, and representatives from the BYU Board of Trustees and administration will also be present. The exercises will be broadcast live on the BYU Broadcasting channels.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) will be speaking at the commissioning ceremonies for the BYU Air Force ROTC. Two cadets will be commissioned in the Memorial Hall of the Wilkinson Student Center at 9 a.m. Friday, Aug. 14. Col. David C. Cordin and Col. Greg Lee Morgan will also be speaking.

The Army ROTC will also commission nine cadets during a ceremony Thursday at 11 a.m. in the Moot Courtroom (room 303) of the J. Reuben Clark Building. Col. Robert Dunton, Commander of Army Garrison at Camp Williams, will be the speaker.

Speaking for the graduates at Thursday’s Commencement Exercises will be Jesse Egbert from Holladay, Utah, who is receiving his degree in linguistics. He is graduating with university honors with a 4.0 GPA. The graduates will also be welcomed into the BYU Alumni Association by Alumni President Dee Allsop.

Graduates will meet at 3 p.m. in the north parking lot of the Abraham Smoot Building to begin the processional at 3:20 p.m. Parents and family members should be in the Marriott Center by 3:15 p.m. Doors will open at 2 p.m.

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 Administration Building 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.

Please be aware also that there will be no parking from midnight Wednesday through Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Lot 1A north of the Abraham Smoot Building. Vehicles parked in this location during those hours will be towed.

Most campus offices will close Thursday at 2:30 p.m. to accommodate the services.

On Friday, Aug. 14, the “Meet the President” event, when President Samuelson and his wife, Sharon, will meet and greet the graduates and their guests, will take place from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center.

Friday’s individual college convocations are as follows:

8 a.m.

Humanities – Marriott Center

Education – Smith Fieldhouse

David M. Kennedy Center – Joseph Smith Building Auditorium

Physical and Mathematical Sciences – Wilkinson Student Center Ballroom

Fine Arts and Communications – de Jong Concert Hall

11 a.m.

Family Home and Social Sciences (except Family Life) – Marriott Center

Engineering and Technology – Smith Fieldhouse

Nursing – Joseph Smith Building Auditorium

2 p.m.

Life Sciences – Marriott Center

Health and Human Performance – Smith Fieldhouse

Family, Home and Social Sciences (Family Life) – Wilkinson Student Center Ballroom

5 p.m.

Marriott School of Management – Marriott Center

Graduates and family members are asked not to use cellular phones during the commencement or convocation exercises.

For more information, visit saas.byu.edu/registrar/graduation/ or contact the BYU Graduation Office, (801) 422-7675.

Writer: Brandon Garrett

Ballard_large.jpg
Photo by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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