Congratulations! Your hard work and dedication to excellence has culminated in your graduation from Truman State University!
Commencement is a joyful and meaningful time to reflect on your many experiences at Truman. The faculty, staff and administration are privileged to have been part of your life and we are pleased to celebrate your accomplishments on May 11 at the Spring Semester Commencement Ceremony at Stokes Stadium.
We hope you achieve all your personal and professional dreams and look forward to your active and ongoing support as a Truman alumnus and lifelong bulldog!
With best wishes,
Eric Freedman
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Please read these Commencement Instructions carefully as there will be no rehearsal for Commencement.
During Commencement, all degree candidates (undergraduate and graduate) will be recognized individually while walking across the stage to receive a diploma cover. Candidates will be seated by degree, not alphabetically. Diplomas will be mailed about six weeks following Commencement to your permanent address. Please ensure your address is accurate and on file with the Registrar’s Office.
Degree candidates need to assemble in academic dress on Saturday, May 11, in Baldwin Hall Auditorium by 12:30 p.m. Candidates will be seated by degree, not alphabetically. Since you will be in the auditorium only a short time before the procession begins, please be on time. At the appropriate time, the Grand Marshal will declare that the “ranks are closed” and anyone not in place will be excluded from the graduation procession.
Degree candidates will follow the Junior Marshals through the east door of Baldwin Hall, proceed north, then east, and then southwest. The Grand Marshal and faculty will meet the graduates at the southeast corner of Baldwin Hall. The Truman ROTC Color Guard and Grand Marshal will lead the procession around the quadrangle and will pause to allow all candidates to exit Baldwin Hall and become part of the processional. The procession will then follow the Grand Marshal past the front of Kirk Building, turning west on the sidewalk past the Sunken Gardens then south past Magruder Hall to Stokes Stadium. The procession will enter Stokes Stadium through the west gate and be seated by the Marshals. It is a long walk so make sure you wear appropriate shoes.
The academic procession will form at 1:30 p.m. in the following order:
Degrees will be granted as follows:
All undergraduate degree candidates will rise at the request of Provost Freedman and remain standing while the degree is conferred en masse by President Thomas.
Undergraduate degree candidates will be recognized in the following groups:
Group 1: Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and Bachelor of Arts
Group 2: Bachelor of Science
After the degree is conferred en masse Group 1 students will be requested to proceed to the stage to receive their diploma covers. Group 2 students will sit and remain seated until Group 1 students receive their diploma covers and are seated. Group 2 will then be asked to proceed to the stage to receive their diploma covers.
The President and the Provost will be greeting graduates and handing out diploma covers on each side of the stage. The Junior Marshals will lead rows of graduates to line up for their names to be called. While approaching the stage, candidates will hand the green reader card with their name on it to the Reader. The Junior Marshals will guide the candidates to and from the stage to their original seat.
After all the undergraduates receive their diploma covers, all Master’s degree candidates will rise at the request of Provost Freedman and remain standing while the degree is conferred en masse by President Thomas. After the degree is conferred en masse, the Junior Marshals will lead rows of graduates to line up for their names to be called. While approaching the stage, candidates will hand the green reader card with their name on it to the Reader. The Junior Marshals will guide the candidates to and from the stage to their original seat.
Participants will depart in the following order during the playing of the recessional:
Remain in the recession until outside the west gate of Stokes Stadium.
Students with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 to 3.74 on a 4.0 scale have earned the honor of graduating Cum Laude and will receive an antiqued bronze medallion. Students with a grade point average of 3.75 to 3.89 have earned the honor of graduating Magna Cum Laude and will receive a silver medallion. Students with a grade point average of 3.90 to 4.0 have earned the honor of graduating Summa Cum Laude and will receive a gold medallion.
Honors for commencement will be determined based on the student’s cumulative GPA at the end of the fall 2023 semester. Final honors will be based on your complete academic record once degrees have been verified and officially conferred. If you have any questions regarding your GPA, please contact the Registrar’s Office at (660) 785-4143.
Students who wish to have a family member present their diploma during the ceremony must notify the Registrar’s Office by May 1st, 2024. Instructions will be provided to both the student and the presenting family member before the ceremony.
If disability accommodations (e.g., interpreter, wheelchair access) are required for graduates or guests, please contact Disability Services at jsneddon@truman.edu . There will be no wheelchairs available. Guests requiring wheelchairs should bring them. Accessibility parking is available in front of Pershing Building and in the lot south of Stokes Stadium. If disability seating is needed for commencement, please complete the Graduation Disability Seating request at disabilityservices.truman.edu.
There is NO reserved seating for guests. Special disability seating is available by requesting it in advance per instructions in the following paragraph. The gates at Stokes Stadium open at 1:00 p.m. for family seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.
GradImages will be taking photographs of each graduate at the moment the diploma cover is awarded and immediately after leaving the stage. Arrangements have been made to take an optional posed photo outside Baldwin Auditorium before the ceremony beginning at 12:00 p.m. Proofs and ordering information will be emailed by GradImages to graduates within a week after graduation.
Once the degrees are certified by the Registrar’s Office, names of the graduates will be posted on the University website. Emails will be sent to Missouri media to let them know the names have been posted, and the media can announce the names. For those out-of-state graduates who would like to have their newspaper alerted, send an email to pr@truman.edu with the name of the newspaper and email address, and we will send that newspaper a link to the page. Keep in mind that major metropolitan newspapers will normally only consider running announcements for those students graduating with honors. For more information email pr@truman.edu or call 660-785-4016.
In the event that forecasted inclement weather requires us to move the ceremony indoors, an email will be sent to the graduates on Wednesday, May 8th, 2024 after 5 pm. The announcement will also be posted on the Truman website and posted on social media.
Inclement weather tickets are intended to help the University monitor the number of people entering Pershing Arena to prevent overcrowding. No additional tickets are available due to the size of the graduating class. Live stream viewing of the Commencement Ceremony will be available on the University’s YouTube and Facebook page for family and friends who do not have tickets.
