Ohio State to award more than 11,000 degrees at spring commencement

With pomp and circumstance, The Ohio State University will award 11,040 degrees to the largest graduating class in university history on Sunday, May 10. The ceremony begins at noon in Ohio Stadium. The 2015 graduating class size surpasses the previous record of 10,642 set in 2012. The record-size graduating class can be attributed to university efforts to attract the state’s brightest students, improve student retention rates and support students as they select majors and schedule classes.

Ohio Stadium opens at 10 a.m. Sunday. No tickets are required. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, see: http://commencement.osu.edu/.

The class processional leaves the French Field House and the Recreational and Physical Activity Center at 11:40 a.m. and moves into Ohio Stadium at noon. Woody Hayes Drive will be closed to vehicular traffic during the procession to the stadium.

Ohio State President Michael V. Drake will preside, and the commencement address will be given by Archie Griffin, president and CEO of the Ohio State Alumni Association and senior vice president for alumni relations. The entire ceremony will last about 2.5 hours.

Each graduate will receive his or her own diploma at the ceremony, a practice rarely attempted by a university the size of Ohio State.

WHAT: Ohio State University spring commencement

WHEN: Graduates enter Ohio Stadium beginning at noon

WHERE: Ohio Stadium, 411 Woody Hayes Drive