Elder Ronald A. Rasband, a member of the Presidency of the Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is scheduled to be the presiding authority and speaker during Brigham Young University’s Commencement Exercises Thursday, Aug. 15, at 4 p.m. in the Marriott Center.
Elder Cecil O. Samuelson, president of BYU and emeritus General Authority of the Church, will conduct the exercises. He and Elder Rasband will be joined on the stand by members of the BYU administration and other Church leaders.
The student speaker for the commencement will be Rachel Thayer, an honors graduate in biology from Toquerville, Utah. Heather Foutz, a graduating piano performance major from Boise, Idaho, will perform a special vocal number. BYU Alumni Association President Michael O’Conner will also address the graduates and their guests.
The exercises will be broadcast live on BYU Television, BYU Radio, Classical 89 KBYU-FM and byutv.org.
Graduates should meet at 3 p.m. at the Abraham Smoot Building parking lot prior to the processional, while family members and friends should be seated in the Marriott Center by 3:15 p.m. The doors of the Marriott Center will open at 2 p.m. The graduate processional will begin at 3:20 p.m.
Most campus offices will close Thursday at 2:30 p.m. to accommodate the services.
All faculty members are invited to march in the processional. Faculty should be on either the east or west side of the ASB by 3:15 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 seating on the playing floor.
As a courtesy to other participants, graduates and family members are encouraged to refrain from using cellular phones while in the Marriott Center.
Please be aware that there will be no parking from midnight Wednesday, Aug. 14, through Thursday, Aug. 15, 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.
The Army ROTC will be commissioning seven cadets Thursday at 11 a.m. in W408 and W410 N. Eldon Tanner Building. Master Sergeant Michael Straight, current senior military instructor at BYU, will be speaking at the ceremony.
The Air Force ROTC will hold its commissioning ceremony for one cadet Friday at 10 a.m. in the Wilkinson Student Center Varsity Theater. Retired U.S. Air Force Major Sergeant Karen Petitt will address the cadet and his guests.
On Friday, President Samuelson will be hosting the “Meet the President” reception. 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.
Individual college convocations for Friday are as follows:
8 a.m.
- Humanities — Marriott Center
- David O. McKay School of Education — Smith Fieldhouse
- David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies —250 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
- Physical and Mathematical Sciences — Wilkinson Student Center Ballroom
- Fine Arts and Communications — de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center
11 a.m.
- Family, Home and Social Sciences— Marriott Center
- Engineering and Technology — Smith Fieldhouse
- Nursing — Joseph Smith Building Auditorium
2 p.m.
- Marriott School of Management — Marriott Center
5 p.m.
- Life Sciences — Marriott Center
For additional information and updates, visit graduation.byu.edu.
Writer: Hwa Lee
