Commencement participation from employees

April 6, 2023
Ramona Allen, Vice President for Human Resources | Cynthia Barnhart, Provost | Glen Shor, Executive Vice President and Treasurer | Maria T. Zuber, Vice President for Research |

Dear Colleagues,

Our Commencement ceremonies are a time of celebration — of our students’ accomplishments and of the shared values of MIT: excellence and curiosity, openness and respect, and belonging and community.

Institute staff provide dedicated support to our entire community, creating an environment where our students can do their best work and reach the important milestone of Commencement. With that in mind, we encourage all staff to take an active role in Commencement festivities. This year’s ceremonies will follow a format similar to last year’s; specifically, MIT Commencement will again encompass multiple ceremonies across several days, including:

  • The OneMIT Commencement Ceremony for all graduates and their guests in Killian Court
  • The Undergraduate Degree Ceremony, also in Killian Court
  • The School/College Advanced Degree Ceremonies, comprising doctoral hooding

Each year, MIT community members make supporting Commencement a priority, ensuring a memorable experience for our guests and graduates. We hope that many of you will participate in staffing the events this year, and we invite you to indicate your interest and general hours of availability on May 31, June 1, and June 2 through this online form.

Staff and faculty support is vital to the success of MIT Commencement. Among the staffing roles needed are those related to assembly and procession of graduates and faculty, plus guest services, which includes ushering, translation, campus information, disability services, and generally ensuring that our guests enjoy these special days.

We encourage managers and supervisors to allow employees to arrange their schedules to accommodate taking part in these important events — and to join in! Over the years, many departments have chosen to work together at Commencement and teams of colleagues are very welcome. If your area would like to work as a team, you can include that note when you sign up.

Thank you for looking at your Commencement week schedule and giving some thought to helping at this year's ceremonies. If you have specific questions, please contact MIT Institute Events.

Sincerely,

Ramona Allen
Vice President for Human Resources

Cynthia Barnhart
Provost

Glen Shor
Executive Vice President and Treasurer

Maria T. Zuber
Vice President for Research