Commencement - 2012

• Senior Week
  Schedule
• Distance Education
  Schedule
• Directions to
  Campus
• Area Lodging

Note:

Commencement will be broadcast and available for viewing both in the auditorium and in the dining hall.

Tickets

Only guests with tickets will be admitted into graduation. Please make sure to have your tickets in hand.

On-Campus Graduates

Ticket distribution meeting will take place soon. On-campus graduates who did not attend the ticket distribution meetings, need to come to the Office of Academic Records to obtain their tickets. If you need additional tickets, apply for the ticket lottery at the Academic Records Office.

Online Graduates

Online graduates will have tickets mailed to them by mid-April.

Memorabilia

Commencement Photos

Commencement Photos of Maine, a private company, will be taking photos of the graduates as each receives his/her diploma.

Commencement Ceremony DVD

DVDs may be purchased for $15 from the Information Technology (IT) Department. Please make your check or money order payable to Saint Joseph’s College of Maine (Add $5 shipping if you want it mailed to your home.)

Mail your payment to the college, attention Information Technology.

You may stop by IT to pick up your DVD. Please call first to be sure DVDs are available. DVDs will be available two weeks after the Ceremony.

Flowers

Flowers and stuffed graduation bears will be available to purchase on graduation morning. Floral bouquets include tissue paper and mini cards.

Baccalaureate Mass

Friday, May 11th at 1:00 p.m.

Please join us for the opening of the Commencement celebrations with Baccalaureate Mass on Friday, May 11th at 1 p.m. Mass will take place, weather permitting, on the front lawn of Alfond Hall with Bishop Richard Malone, of the Diocese of Portland, presiding.

Students and faculty will robe for Mass. There will be no assigned seating for family and friends. No tickets are required.

Please join us for refreshments at the reception on the lawn directly after Mass. If you have requested special needs parking for Saturday, please bring that parking pass with you to park as needed on Friday.

Moving out

Saturday, May 12th

Public Safety recommends families of students who live on campus plan to start moving after 2 p.m. once campus traffic has reduced.  Please be considerate of the traffic flow following the ceremony when parking and moving out of the resident halls. Graduating students will need to be out of the resident halls by 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 12.

Arriving & Parking

Saturday, May 12th

Parking will be available on campus. Please come early to make sure you have sufficient time to park and walk to the front lawn of Alfond Hall. The traffic before the event can be significant.

Due to the considerable need for parking, we ask that you and your guests carpool to campus on Saturday. This will help to improve our parking and traffic situation.

You will enter the campus from Whites Bridge Road. As you proceed there will be staff to show you the way. Please do not stop your car to ask questions at the entrance, as this will bring the traffic flow to a halt.

We suggest that you arrive on campus as early as you can. Before 9 a.m. is recommended.

Honorary Degree Recipients

This year the Saint Joseph's College will honor the Portland Chapter of the Sisters of Mercy, founders of the college; Sr. Mary Scullion, RSM, of Philadelphia, Pa., one of TIME magazine's "World's 100 Most Influential People in 2009 and longtime advocate/activist for homeless and mentally ill people; Mary Roche Sullivan, of Waltham, Mass., who served on the Colleges Board of Trustees for 12 years; and Dr. Robert Caret, president of the University of Massachusetts system, who will deliver the commencement address.

Rain Plan

In the event of inclement weather, we may need to adjust our planning. We will make sure that everyone is informed of any such adjustments. Please check back during graduation week for any last minute updates to the schedule.

Caps and Gowns

The College Bookstore

Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Friday 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Saturday 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

During graduation week the bookstore will be open Monday - Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.-2 p.m. The store has a wide variety of college-branded clothing and gifts, and will also have diploma frames on sale.

On-campus students will be notified when their cap and gown are available to pick up in the bookstore. Students must have their student ID to get their cap and gown.

Online graduates can pick up their cap and gown on campus during the hours the bookstore is open. If you plan on picking up your apparel on Saturday morning, we recommend you get there when the store opens at 8 a.m.

Special Needs

We have instructed our graduates to let us know if any one of their guests has limited mobility and will need special parking and/or seating accommodations. We also asked our graduates to let us know if anyone in their party is hearing-impaired and can benefit from a clear view of our signers. We w ill reserve seating that will ensure they have a clear field of vision. Please make sure your graduate lets us know. If not, remind them to visit the Office of Academic Records so that we can meet your special needs. Please note that special seating is limited to the individual with the disability and one family member. Additional family members may sit in the general seating area.