Michigan State University will host commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center on the corner of Harrison Road and Kalamazoo Street.
There are a total of 2,019 undergraduate degree candidates and 720 advanced degree candidates. The College of Social Science has the most undergraduates with 383.
The advanced degree ceremony will be at 3:30 p.m. Friday. Michael Longaker, the Deane P. and Louise Mitchell Professor in the School of Medicine at Stanford University, will speak. He will receive an honorary doctorate of science.
In addition, Natalie Crawford, senior fellow and Distinguished Chair in Air and Space Policy, RAND Corp., will receive an honorary doctorate of engineering.
John Duffey, president of Six Flags Entertainment Corp., will speak to undergraduates at 10 a.m. Saturday and will receive an honorary doctorate of business. Also at that ceremony, Dennis Archer, the former mayor of Detroit, will receive an honorary doctorate of laws.
Later that day, Barbara Ross-Lee, vice president for health sciences and medical affairs at New York Institute of Technology, will speak at 2 p.m. and will receive an honorary doctorate of science. Additionally, Rajmohan Gandhi, MSU Distinguished Visiting Hannah Professor, will receive an honorary doctorate of humanities.
Longaker, Duffey and Ross-Lee are MSU alumni. More information on speakers and honorary degree recipients can be found on MSUToday.
Consistent with Breslin Center policy, all bags will be subject to search. No food or beverages – including bottled water – will be allowed into Breslin Center, and this applies to graduates, guests and faculty participating in the ceremonies. As such, Breslin will offer a limited menu of concessions for sale during the ceremonies. Additional prohibited items include large cameras, recording devices, noisemakers, selfie sticks, pets, signs or weapons of any form. Smoking also is prohibited at the Breslin Center.
Media Parking
Parking passes for media are available from 9 a.m. Thursday to noon Friday at the Media Communications Office, 408 W. Circle Drive, Room 403, Olds Hall. Media parking is available in Lot 63 East, accessible from Shaw Lane. (Please note parking change due to construction.) Media must obtain a parking pass from Media Communications. This pass must be displayed to enter the lot.
Breslin Center Entry
The Gate B (southeast) entrance and the ticket office entrance to Breslin are closed due to construction. Please enter through the Berkowitz entrance on the east side of Breslin (on Birch Road).
Media will be accommodated on Platform 111. An audio feed will be available.