UNL will create a new tradition this month when it institutes a two-day commencement celebration Dec. 19-20.

Because of increased enrollment and continuing student participation in commencement exercises, the Bob Devaney Sports Center no longer has the capacity to hold one commencement accommodating all students. As a result, UNL will conduct two commencement ceremonies three times a year – in December, May and August.

Graduate commencement exercises, including doctoral hooding, begin at 3 p.m. Dec. 19 for approximately 300 students earning doctoral and master’s degrees. Undergraduate exercises for approximately 1,300 students begin at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 20. Both are in the Devaney Center. Chancellor Harvey Perlman will preside at the events. John Anderson, associate dean of the College of Business Administration and Baird family professor of economics at UNL, will address the graduate exercises. U.S. Sen.-elect Mike Johanns will deliver the address at the undergraduate ceremony.

Anderson

Anderson has advised public policymakers on many levels. He was senior economist with the President’s Council of Economic Advisers in 2005-06 with duties related to public finance policy issues such as tax reform, Social Security and other federal revenue and spending programs. Anderson has extensive international expertise in the re-development of former Communist countries. He joined the UNL faculty in 1991.

Johanns

Johanns was elected U.S. Senator for Nebraska in November to fill the seat previously occupied by the retiring Chuck Hagel. Johanns served as the 28th secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture from January 2005 to September 2007. Previously, he was Nebraska’s 38th governor (1999-2005).

For both commencement exercises, handicap accessible shuttle buses will be available for easy access to the Devaney Center. Handicap permit parking will be available on the north side of the building.

Both ceremonies are free and open to the public; tickets are not required. The ceremonies will be Web-streamed live through a link at www.unl.edu.

A drop-off area for graduates and mobility-restricted guests will be available on the south side of the Devaney Center. Closed captioning for hearing-impaired individuals will be provided through the HuskerVision screens. Reserved seats for guests who are ambulatory restricted will be available next to the stage on the arena floor (Dec. 20 only, seats will also be available in Section B-11). Guests in wheelchairs will be seated on the northeast corner of the arena floor.