Ohio State spring commencement information

For the fourth consecutive year, Ohio State will graduate the largest spring quarter class ever with the awarding of 10,642 degrees on Sunday (6/10). The class of 2012 surpasses the 2011 class (9,700) by several hundred graduates. The record-size graduating class can be attributed to university efforts to attract the state’s brightest students, record student retention rates, and the rush to graduate ahead of the conversion to semesters that begins later this month.

The ceremony is the university's 400th commencement and Ohio State’s last on the academic quarter system.

Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, will deliver the commencement address.

Honorary doctorates will be presented to Donald Harris, composer and dean emeritus of The Ohio State University College of the Arts, and to Douglas Massey, professor of sociology at Princeton University.

Distinguished Service Awards will be presented to two Ohio State graduates – John W. Kessler, owner of John W. Kessler Company and chairman of The New Albany Company, real estate development companies; and Keith Monda, retired president of Coach, Inc.

The ceremony will last approximately two and one-half hours. Approximately 50,000 guests are expected to attend commencement. No tickets are required. Additional information is available at http://commencement.osu.edu/

A Zero Waste Commencement

Spring commencement may have the largest graduating class in history but it will have one of the smallest environmental impacts. At this commencement Ohio State will attempt to achieve zero waste status by diverting more than 90 percent of the materials from the event. The Zero Waste at Ohio Stadium program is setting the precedent for the first-ever zero waste commencement at Ohio State. Attendees will be asked to place any food or fiber items in the containers marked for compost and place any other materials into the recycling bins. “Graduates have left their legacies on campus and seek to impact the world but at this commencement, they will leave a small environmental footprint,” said Ohio State Sustainability Coordinator Corey Hawkey.

Traffic Alert

There are several ongoing construction projects on campus and near Ohio Stadium that may impact traffic and parking on commencement day. Please visit the Transportation and Parking