Nebraska to grant about 1,600 degrees in December ceremonies

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln will confer about 1,600 degrees during commencement exercises Dec. 14 and 15.

Pinnacle Bank Arena, 400 Pinnacle Arena Drive, will host a ceremony for students earning graduate and professional degrees at 3 p.m. Dec. 14 and one for those earning bachelor’s degrees at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 15. The College of Law will award eight Juris Doctor degrees during a ceremony at 1 p.m. Dec. 14 at Hamann Auditorium in McCollum Hall, 1875 N. 42nd St.

Nebraska Supreme Court Justice Stephanie Stacy will deliver the commencement address for the law graduates. Gina Matkin, associate professor in agricultural leadership, education and communication at Nebraska, will give the address at the graduate and professional degrees ceremony. Bob Kerrey, former U.S. senator and former Nebraska governor, will speak at the undergraduate commencement.

Stacy was appointed to the Nebraska Supreme Court in 2015 to represent the 1st Judicial District. Prior to this, she was a district-court judge in Lancaster County from 2011 to 2015, and in private practice from 1993 to 2011. She is a 1991 graduate of the Nebraska College of Law.

Matkin’s research focuses on leadership and diversity, with an emphasis on cultural competence development. With her graduate students, she has conducted research in agriculture, health care, the military, community leadership, higher education, study-abroad programs and nonprofits. She teaches courses on personal leadership development, diversity and cultural competence, and leadership in social movements. She also advises master’s and doctoral students. Matkins is active in the International Leadership Association and is on the board of directors of the Association of Leadership Educators. A first-generation college student, she earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Southeast Missouri State University, a master’s degree in general graduate studies from Iowa State University and a doctoral degree in human sciences from Nebraska.

Kerrey is managing director at investment banking firm Allen and Company, based in New York. He is also executive chairman of the Minerva Institute for Research and Scholarship. He was president of The New School in New York City from 2001 to 2011. Kerrey represented Nebraska in the U.S. Senate from 1989 to 2001, where he promoted equity for rural communities, led in farm and environmental legislation, strengthened taxpayers’ rights, led in restructuring intelligence agencies and partnered with local leaders to build projects of lasting value to Nebraskans. Since leaving the Senate, he has served on the 9/11 Commission and the advisory board of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association, and was co-chair of the Concord Coalition and Natural Resources Defense Council.

Prior to serving in the Senate, Kerrey was Nebraska’s governor from 1983 to 1987. Before that, he was a businessman who helped build a chain of restaurants and health clubs that employed more than 1,000 people. Kerrey served three years in the U.S. Navy in the Vietnam War and received a Congressional Medal of Honor for his service as a Navy SEAL. He was seriously wounded and lost the lower part of his right leg in combat. Kerrey earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Nebraska.

Chancellor Ronnie Green will preside over the commencement ceremonies.

No tickets are required for the ceremonies. 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 in Sections 106, 107, 112, 114, 117 and 118. Beverage stands will be open. 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, click here.

Guest services and first aid will be on Level 3 at Gate 112.

Paid parking, including handicap spaces, is available in Haymarket area garages and on the street. Parking in the Red 1 Garage, 555 R St. at $3 per vehicle, can be reserved and paid in advance through the City of Lincoln website. Pinnacle Bank Arena’s north lobby entrance will not be open for commencement.

A drop-off area for mobility-restricted guests will be available on the south side of the U.S. Post Office building, 700 R St., directly east of Pinnacle Bank Arena, although the area is expected to be highly congested.

Parking maps are available here.

Graduating students are to check in at 2 p.m. for the graduate and professional degrees ceremony and 8 a.m. for the undergraduate ceremony. Graduates and their guests are asked to stay for the entire ceremony.

The ceremonies will be streamed here and broadcast live on Spectrum channel 1303, Allo channel 23 and Kinetic channel 1080.