UNL will grant degrees to about 2,900 students in commencement ceremonies on May 9 and 10.
Pinnacle Bank Arena, 400 Pinnacle Arena Drive, will be the site of the ceremonies for approximately 550 graduate and professional degree recipients at 3 p.m. May 9 and for approximately 2,300 baccalaureate degree recipients at 9:30 a.m. May 10. Approximately 100 students will receive degrees from the College of Law in a ceremony at 3 p.m. May 10 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, 301 N. 12th St. All ceremonies are free and open to the public and tickets are not required.
Outgoing University of Nebraska president James B. Milliken will give the address at the baccalaureate ceremony. Milliken has served for the last decade as university president and as a member of the faculty in the UNL College of Law. He announced in January that he would step down at the conclusion of the academic year and on June 1 assume the position of chancellor of the City University of New York, the nation’s premier urban public university.
Former Nebraska football coach and athletics director Tom Osborne will receive the Nebraska Builder Award, given by the University of Nebraska since 1946 to individuals who have displayed exceptional service to Nebraska and the university. Osborne was Nebraska’s head football coach from 1972 through the 1998 Orange Bowl game, compiling a record of 255-49-3. He had the sixth most wins in major college history and the fifth-best winning percentage (.836). A member of the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame, his teams won three national championships and 13 Big Eight Conference crowns. He served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before returning to UNL to serve as director of intercollegiate athletics from 2007 to 2012, and was instrumental in the Cornhuskers’ move to the Big Ten Conference in 2011.
Rick Bevins, Cather Professor and chair of the UNL Department of Psychology, will give the address at the May 9 graduate degree ceremony. Bevins, who earned his doctorate in neuroscience and behavior at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has been at UNL since 1996. He has an extensive track record investigating the underlying behavioral and neural causes of drug addiction, publishing over a 120 papers in the area, along with two edited books.
Terri Minatra, general counsel for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C., will give the address at the College of Law ceremony.
Immediately following the undergraduate commencement, the Nebraska Alumni Association will host a post-graduation party in the Railyard, across the street south of Pinnacle Bank Arena. The first “Congraduation Celebration” will feature live music, a family photo booth, prize drawings, food and drink specials for graduates and families, an official alumni toast and a hat toss.
In another new feature this spring, friends and family can send a message to their graduate in the Pinnacle Bank Arena ceremonies by posting it at http://commencement.unl.edu/welcome. The messages may be used on the arena big screens and UNL social media.
There will be open seating in Pinnacle Bank Arena and the public may sit in any non-reserved seats other than on the main floor, which is set for graduates, faculty and dignitaries. Handicap seating is available on the concourse level at sections 106, 107, 112, 114, 117 and 118. Concession stands will not be open, but bottled water will be available for sale. Open captioning for people with hearing impairment will be provided through the ribbon screens at the corners of the arena concourse level. For Pinnacle Bank Arena seating charts, go to http://www.pinnaclebankarena.com/tickets/seating.html.
Guest services and first aid will be on Level 3 at Gate 112.
Free parking May 9 and 10 will be available in the Festival Space parking lot, across a pedestrian bridge north of the arena. Transportation to the arena by golf cart will be available for mobility-restricted guests. Festival Space is accessible off Sun Valley Boulevard between West O Street and North 10th Street. UNL lots will be available only to those with proper permits on May 9, but will be available at no charge on May 10.
Paid parking, including handicap parking, is available in Haymarket area garages operated by the city of Lincoln and on the street, although those planning to attend the May 10 ceremony should be mindful that the Historic Haymarket Farmers’ Market will be in progress from 6 a.m. to noon in the immediate vicinity of Pinnacle Bank Arena and will affect traffic and parking patterns. Parking in the Red 1 Garage, 555 R St., can be reserved and paid in advance through the City of Lincoln website, http://www.lincoln.ne.gov/asp/eventprk/default.asp.
A drop-off area for mobility-restricted guests will be available on the south side of the post office building, 700 R St., directly east of Pinnacle Bank Arena, although the area is expected to be highly congested, especially on May 10.
Parking maps are available at http://www.pinnaclebankarena.com/visit.
Both Pinnacle Bank Arena ceremonies will be carried live on Lincoln TimeWarner Cable Education Access Channel 80 (with cable box) or Channel 71.16 (TWC subscribers without cable box).
