President Charles M. Vest and Provost Robert A. Brown will present about 2,500 degrees to more than 2,000 undergraduates and graduate students at MIT's 135th Commencement on Friday, June 8 in Killian Court.
The guest speaker will be NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin, who revitalized the space program during the post-Cold War era.
Graduates may pick up guest tickets in Lobby 7 from 10am-4:30pm through June 1 and during extended hours from June 4-7. Each graduate is entitled to four tickets. A ticket is required for each guest in the seating area, including children three years and older. Students must show both a photo ID and a regalia rental receipt from the MIT Coop to receive their tickets. Selling extra Commencement tickets is not permitted. On Commencement day, family members may pick up tickets by showing a graduate's MIT ID card from 8-10am.
About 1,110 bachelor's degrees will be presented, 800 master's degrees, 370 MBAs and 220 doctorates. About 700 women will receive degrees. Some students receive more than one degree.
The formal activities begin at 9:45am with the traditional academic procession from 77 Massachusetts Ave. to Killian Court led by the chief marshal, Paul Rodovsky (SB 1966), the 2000-01 president of the MIT Association of Alumni and Alumnae. If the weather is bad, the ceremonies will be held on the first floor of the Rockwell Cage for the stage assembly and degree recipients only.
President Vest will present the SBs, SB/SMs, SB/MEng and advanced degrees in the School of Science, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Whitaker College of Health Science and Technology. Provost Brown will award the advanced degrees in the Schools of Architecture and Planning; Engineering; Humanities, Arts, and Social Science; and the Sloan School of Management.
This year, the President's reception following the Commencement exercises will be held beneath a tent on Steinbrenner Stadium.
Chancellor Lawrence S. Bacow will preside at a special hooding ceremony for doctoral degrees candidates on Thursday, June 7 at the Johnson Athletic Center at 1pm. Tickets are not required for the hooding ceremony.
A brass ensemble will perform in Killian Court prior to the ceremonies. Professor Ellen T. Harris of music and theater arts will sing the national anthem.
President Vest will deliver the traditional charge to the graduates. Other speakers include Soulaymane Kachani, president of the Graduate Student Council, and Erick Tseng, president of the Class of 2001. The Rev. Constance Parvey, MIT's Lutheran chaplain, willgive the invocation.
The ceremonies may be viewed on closed-circuit television in selected rooms in Buildings 1, 2 and 4; Rooms 10-250, 16-160, 26-100, 34-101, 56-114, E25-111, E51-145 and E51-149; Kresge Auditorium and Kresge Little Theater.
ROTC COMMISSIONING
A commissioning ceremony for Air Force and Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) graduating seniors is scheduled for Friday, June 8 at 5pm under the masts of the USS Constitution at the Charlestown Navy Yard Historical Park. The speaker will be Rear Admiral Michael C. Tracy, commander of Navy Region Northeast.
PARKING
Guests attending Commencement who drive to campus will be directed to West Garage and CRA lot. Employees who have either a West Garage or CRA lot parking permit will be directed to an off-campus location that day.
Arrangements have been made for complimentary parking at the North Station parking garage next to the Fleet Center. Shuttle buses will runn from 6-10am from there to the MIT campus. Buses will make the return trip from 3-7pm. See the Parking and Transporation web site at for additional details.
FACULTY REGALIA
Faculty members who have made rental arrangements for regalia with the Commencement Committee office are reminded that robes will be available for pickup in Rm 8-119 on June 6 and 7 from 10am-4pm. All regalia must be returned to the Information Center in Rm 7-121 by Tuesday, June 12.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 23, 2001.
