THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
Columbus School of Law
Office of Student Life and Special Events
Washington, D.C. 20064
202-319-6126
TO:
FROM:
RE:
DATE:
Class of 2015
Joan Vorrasi, Office of Student Life and Special Events
Commencement Information and Important Instructions
April 14, 2015
The Law School Commencement is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Friday, May 22, in the Great Upper Church of the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. I would like to take this opportunity to give you
instructions for the law school graduation ceremony and information on the Mass, pictures, academic apparel and
social events connected with commencement. Please take the time to carefully read this information which outlines
important details for you and for your guests attending commencement related events.
A questionnaire requesting information from you on the number of your guests attending graduation events is at the
end of this letter. Please fill out this form as soon as possible and return to the Office of Student Life and Special
Events in Suite 341. Forms can be also faxed to us at: (202) 319-4470 or emailed to Rachel Porter at Kingra@law.edu.
NOTE: If you have a family member who was a graduate of the law school, please send us your questionnaire
as soon as possible or send a separate email to Vorrasi@law.edu with the name(s) and your relationship to your
“CUA Law Legacy” family member/s.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Attendance
All graduates are required to attend the ceremony. If you cannot attend, you are required to write a letter to the Provost
ad Interim Very Rev. Mark Morozowich, SEOD, requesting permission to be excused. The letter should indicate the
address to which the University Registrar should mail your diploma, and should be sent to Fr. Morozowich at 105
McMahon Hall, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064. Please send a copy of this letter to
Stuart Schept, Registrar, Suite 343, Law School.
Caps & Gowns
All graduates are required, according to University policy, to attend the ceremony and wear academic regalia.
Graduating students who are members of the United States Armed Services are allowed to wear dress uniform in lieu
of academic apparel. If you have not yet ordered your cap & gown, contact the Office of Student Life and Special
Events at (202) 319-6126 immediately.
Cap and gown distribution will be in the interview rooms adjacent to the Office of Career and Professional
Development on the ground floor to distribute academic robes on Monday, May 18, from 12 noon until 7 p.m. and
again on commencement day, from 8 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. If you are out of the city on May 18, you may ask a friend to
pick up your robes, but we ask that the person picking up the robes present a copy of the order/receipt.
Ceremony
The graduates' procession will enter the church at 10:50 a.m., with the ceremony beginning promptly at 11 a.m.
The commencement exercises will last approximately one and one-half hours.
Special Needs Seating
We will reserve seats for guests with disabilities. All special needs tickets must be reserved through the Office of
Student Life and Special Events. The tickets can be picked up, beginning on April 15th from Suite 341; or if you
prefer, we can mail them to your home. If you have any questions or concerns about disability seating or other
accommodations, please call us at (202) 319-6126, or email Rachel Porter at kingra@law.edu. The wheelchair
entrance to the Shrine is located at the front of the Shrine.
Guests
The number of guests that you may invite to the ceremony is unlimited. Although there will be room for all guests of
law school graduates at the ceremony, I urge you to have your family arrive early at the Shrine. We will begin seating
guests no earlier than 9:30 a.m. Please Note: We understand that there will always be a need to “save a seat” for a
mother, father or brother who dropped the family off and will return after parking the car. Our ushers will allow one or
two seats to be held for this purpose, but “holding” a row will not be permitted.
Parking and Shuttle Bus Service
Parking will be available in the university garage adjacent to the law school on Thursday for the Institutes ceremony
and reception, Mass at St. Vincent’s Chapel and the Class of 2015 Celebration at St. Francis Hall, the location of the
Class of 2015 Celebration.
On Friday, parking will be available in the garage, the university parking lots adjacent to the Shrine and the Shrine
parking lot on Harewood Road and Michigan Avenue. Shuttle buses will run from the front entrance of the law school
to and from the Shrine before and after Commencement for those who wish to park in the law school garage.
Pictures: Class Photo, Individual Pictures and Video
Panoramic Visions is a local photography company which specializes in large group events will provide a number of
services which may be of interest to you. Items offered include: Class of 2015 panoramic group photograph, a
photograph with Dean Attridge as you receive your diploma, a video of the commencement ceremony and on-site
diploma framing. Order forms will be available soon on the cabinet adjacent to the student mailfolders, in the Office
of Student Life and Special Events, Suite 341, and on our Commencement Web page:
http://www.law.edu/students/Graduation-Information/2015Commencement.cfm
Panoramic Visions will also be available to take formal graduation photographs in Room 311 on Thursday, May 21
and Friday, May 22. Forms can either be turned into the Office of Student Life and Special Events any time before
May 22 or mailed directly to Panoramic Visions Photography. A late fee will be assessed for ordered received after
commencement day.
Webcast
You may want to notify out-of-town friends and family that the commencement ceremony will be Webcast and will be
available for viewing online after 6 p.m. on Friday, May 22. There will be a link on our Web page www.law.edu.
The program will be available online through early August.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Monday, May 18
Caps and gowns will be distributed in the interview rooms from 12 noon until 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 21
Institutes and Special Programs Certificate Ceremony — 2 p.m., Byron Auditorium, Law School
A certificate presentation ceremony for students in the Communications Law Institute, the Comparative and
International Law Institute, the Law and Public Policy Program and the Securities Law Program will take place at 2
p.m., with a reception to follow. For further information, please call the Office of Institutes and Special Programs
(319-6081).
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Mass — 4:30 p.m., St. Vincent’s Chapel, John McCormack Road
A Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated for the graduates at 4:30 p.m. at St. Vincent’s Chapel. All graduates are
invited to attend with family and friends. Graduates should sit with their families and academic apparel should not be
worn to the Mass. If you have a family member who is a Roman Catholic priest and interested in concelebrating the
Mass, please contact the Office of Student Life and Special Events no later than May 1.
Mass Parking: The University garage adjacent to the law school will be open for those attending Mass.
Class of 2015 Celebration, Thursday, May 21st, 7:30 - 10:30 p.m., St. Francis Hall, Franciscan Monastery of the
Holy Land in America, hosted by the 2015 Graduation Committee.
The Class of 2015 Celebration for parents, family and friends will take place from 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. at the St. Francis
Hall, Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, 1340 Quincy St., N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017.
Metro Stations: Brookland/CUA Metro (Red Line). Bus Service will be available to and from the Brookland Metro
and the Law School Garage. Parking is also available at the venue.
Ticket costs: $35 adult 15 years and up; $20 for children 7-14 years; free for children 6 and under. All tickets must be
purchased in advance of the event.
Tickets will be available at the Graduation Committee table ONLY in the atrium on April 22 nd and in the Student
Lounge on April 27th and 28th on a first come, first served basis. The Office of Student Life and Special Events will
also have 50 tickets to the Pre-Graduation Reception starting April 23rd.
Important Note: We are limited to 250 guests for this event. If there are still spots available, tickets will also be
sold adjacent to the cap and gown distribution area through 6 p.m. on Monday, May 18.
Friday, May 22
Distribution of Caps and Gowns — 8 - 9:45 a.m., Interview Rooms adjacent to OCPD, Ground Level
Commencement Ceremony — 11 a.m., Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Seating for guests attending the law school commencement will begin after 9:30 a.m. The academic procession will
enter the Shrine at 10:50 a.m.
Reception — approximately 12:45 p.m., University Lawn
Immediately following the Commencement ceremony, Dean Attridge and the Faculty will host a reception for
graduates, families and friends on the lawn. In case of inclement weather, the reception will be moved indoors.
COMMENCEMENT DAY INFORMATION FOR GRADUATES
Pre-Ceremony Organization
On graduation day, graduates should report to the Byron Auditorium at 9:30 a.m., wearing your gown, tam and
hood. We ask that you stay in the auditorium until instructed to leave and remain with the class from this point until
the end of the commencement ceremony. You will wear your hood for the class photo, but then take it off and carry it
over your right arm during the procession to the Shrine.
Name Cards / Order of Procession
Members of the administrative staff will be in the Byron Auditorium distributing name cards and giving you final
instructions for the photograph assembly and procession.
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The name card is important. Please do not lose it. During the commencement ceremony, you will give the card to
the Faculty Marshal who will be at the podium to read the graduates’ names during the ceremony. Once you have your
name card, you should wait in the auditorium until you are instructed to go outside for the class photo. After the
photograph has been taken, we will ask you to assemble in alphabetical lines behind appropriately marked signs at the
back of the Pryzbyla Center.
Inclement Weather
In case of inclement weather, you should report to the Byron Auditorium in the law school as directed above to receive
your name card and be in the class photograph which will be taken in the Atrium. In case of rain, there will be no
procession from the law school to the Shrine. Following the photo session in the atrium, graduates will be sent directly
to Memorial Hall (in the lower level of the Shrine) to line up for the procession.
Panoramic Class Picture
We will direct you when you are to go to the back lawn for the class photograph. Please listen carefully to the
photographer’s instructions. We have only about 30 minutes to have the class picture taken and reassemble for the
procession.
Marching to the Shrine
After the picture has been taken, please be alert and follow directions to line up behind the Pryzbyla Center for the
academic procession. Once the alphabetical line-up is finalized, the procession will walk up the path to McMahon Hall
and across the mall, entering the Shrine via the front door. The academic procession will enter the Church at
approximately 10:50 a.m.
Graduates will be divided alphabetically for the procession and seating in the Shrine: A - K in a single file line on the
right, and, L - Z in a single file order on the left. Once the group is lined up alphabetically, we will move the group
together so that the procession will be in a double line, with A- K walking on the right and L-Z walking on the left.
Our “A - K” graduates will sit in the front right section of the Shrine, and the “L - Z” graduates will sit in the
front left section.
The Ceremony
The graduates will occupy the front section of the Shrine. The faculty and honored guests will be seated on the altar.
Please remain standing in your place for the Invocation and the National Anthem. Dean Attridge will then instruct you
to be seated. Men should remove their tams during the National Anthem.
After short preliminary speeches and the Student and Commencement Addresses, Dean Attridge will ask the graduates
to stand. President John Garvey will read the degree conferral and ask you to “don your hood” before lining up to go
to the altar. Ushers will assist graduates in moving up the right stairwell to the main altar. You will present your name
card to the Faculty Marshal and then walk across to the center stage where you will first shake hands with President
Garvey and then move to Dean Attridge who will present your diploma. You should shake Dean Attridge’s hand, take
the diploma with your left and pause for a photograph with the Dean and President.
AFTER THE CEREMONY
Diplomas
During the graduation ceremony you will receive a “decorative diploma.” You should report to the Academic Affairs
office in Suite 343 from 1 to 3 p.m. to pick up your official diploma.
Cap and Gown Return
Please return your academic apparel to the Herff Jones Company representative in the interview rooms. All caps,
gowns and hoods must be returned by 3 p.m. on commencement day. The replacement cost of the apparel is
approximately $600.00, and you will be billed if the apparel is not returned.
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Reception
Dean Attridge and the faculty will host a reception for you and your family and friends on the University lawn and in
the Keelty Atrium immediately following the graduation ceremony. In case of inclement weather, the reception will
take place in the Atrium, the Student Lounge and Cafeteria.
Please fill out and return the attached questionnaire regarding graduation events to the Office of Student Life and
Special Events. This questionnaire will enable us to plan properly for refreshments for you and your guests. This
form can be faxed to (202) 319-4470 or emailed to Rachel Porter at Kingra@law.edu. So that we can plan for
appropriately for seating and refreshments, we ask that the form be returned by May 1.
If you are the son or daughter, sister or brother, husband or wife of a CUA law school alumnus/a, please indicate this
on the questionnaire so that we can announce your name at graduation and include your information in the CUA
Lawyer magazine. If you have any questions about the ceremony, or any other graduation-related events, please feel
free to call us at 319-6126.
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