Times, dates, places for spring 2023 commencement ceremonies

This spring, more than 5,400 University of Iowa students will participate in in-person and livestreamed commencement ceremonies, beginning with the College of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy ceremony May 11 and concluding with the College of Dentistry’s ceremony June 2. Other ceremonies will take place between May 11 and May 20.

View the full list of ceremonies and livestream links here.

Use the hashtag #UIowaGrad23 to join the celebration on social media.

Dates and times for each ceremony are listed below. Livestream links can be found on the UI commencement website.

After the conclusion of the livestreamed ceremony, the video will be uploaded to the UI’s YouTube channel.

Parking information

Due to construction, traffic congestion around Carver-Hawkeye Arena is expected during commencement due to limited parking options, so please allow extra time for travel and parking.

The nearby parking lots that are on a first-come, first-served basis include Lot 75 (Arena), Lot 65 (Finkbine), and Lot 43 (Kinnick), but there is not guaranteed availability. There are also nearby public parking facilities available at an hourly rate, including the Newton Road Parking Ramp and Hospital Ramp 3. You are encouraged to consider taking public transportation from either Iowa City or Coralville or a free UI Cambus to the event. Guests with state-issued ADA parking placards should use Lot 33 (Dental) if available, or other designated areas near Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

College of Pharmacy
Doctor of Pharmacy ceremony
10 a.m.
Hancher Auditorium

President Barbara Wilson and Dean Donald Letendre will provide messages to students. Board of Regents member Nancy Dunkel will attend. Graduate and class president Hoyt DeVolder, of Bloomington, Minnesota, will be the student speaker. Charlie Tobler, ’90 BSPh, MBA, co-owner and executive vice president for TerSera Therapeutics, Deerfield, Illinois, will be the guest speaker.

College of Education
Undergraduate and Teacher Education Program ceremony
4 p.m.
Hancher Auditorium

College of Education Dean Daniel L. Clay will deliver a message to the students. The keynote speaker will be Nate Clark, ’99 JD, global director of corporate social responsibility for Deere & Co. and president of the John Deere Foundation. The faculty speaker will be Teaching and Learning Professor Emeritus Nancy Langguth. Langguth is also former associate dean for Teacher Education and Student Services and currently teaches an Education Studies and Human Relations course. The student speaker will be graduate Samantha Pedek, of Muscoda, Wisconsin, who is receiving a Master of Arts in teaching in science education. Dean Clay and President Barbara Wilson will confer degrees.

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Friday, May 12

Graduate College
Doctoral degree candidates
11 a.m.
Carver-Hawkeye Arena

President Barbara Wilson and Associate Provost for Graduate Education and Dean Amanda Haertling Thein will deliver messages to students. The alumni speaker will be Jen Wittman (DNP ’19). Graduate Carly Armour, from Elberton, Georgia, will give the student address.

College of Law
2 p.m.
Hancher Auditorium

Dean Kevin Washburn and President Barbara Wilson will address the students. Graduate Audrey A. Felderman, of Lisbon, Iowa, will be the student speaker. The Honorable Dana Oxley (98JD), Iowa Supreme Court, will be the alumni speaker. President Wilson will confer degrees.

Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine and Master in Medical Education
6:30 p.m.
Hancher Auditorium

UI President Barbara Wilson and J. Brooks Jackson, vice president for medical affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean of the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, will deliver welcome messages to students. Christopher S. Cooper, senior associate dean for medical education, will give introductory remarks. Erin Sullivan, of Dubuque, Iowa, will be the student speaker, and Cate Dicharry, Writing and Humanities Program director, will provide the commencement address. Jane L. Miller, professor and director of the Master in Medical Education Program, will present the graduates of the Master in Medical Education Program. Graduate Nathen Spitz, of Osage, Iowa, and 2023 recipient of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, will administer the Hippocratic Oath. Jessica Zuzga-Reed, president of the Iowa Medical Society; David Asprey, associate dean for medical education and professional programs; Amal Shibli-Rahhal, associate dean for student affairs; and James Choi, assistant dean for student affairs, also will participate in the commencement ceremony. 

Graduate College
Master’s degree candidates
7 p.m.

Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel and Associate Provost for Graduate Education and Dean Amanda Haertling Thein will deliver messages to students. The alumni speaker will be Beth Westlake Blanco (MS ’09, ’10, ’16). Graduate Cesar Perez, of Aurora, Illinois, will give the student address.

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Saturday, May 13

College of Nursing
9 a.m.
Hancher Auditorium

College of Nursing Dean Julie Zerwic; Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipient Olivia Wulf (BSN19); new BSN graduate Elizabeth Pavon of Pleasant Hill, Iowa; and new RN-BSN graduate Sara Opat of Waukon, Iowa, will deliver messages to students. Degrees will be conferred by Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS)
9 a.m.
Carver-Hawkeye Arena

This CLAS ceremony will recognize graduates majoring in African American studies; American studies; ancient civilization; anthropology; art; art history; biochemistry; biochemistry and molecular biology; biology; biomedical sciences; chemistry; cinema; classical languages; computer science; economics; English; English and creative writing; environmental policy and planning; environmental sciences; exercise science; gender, women’s, and sexuality studies; geography; geoscience; health and human physiology; health promotion; health studies; human physiology; informatics; science studies; screenwriting arts; social justice; speech and hearing science; sport and recreation management; sport studies; sustainability science; and therapeutic recreation.

Dean Sara Sanders and President Barbara Wilson will confer degrees. President Wilson and Graduate College Dean Amanda Haertling Thein will confer an Honorary Doctorate of Letters upon Oliver Lee Jackson, an internationally renowned painter, sculptor, and printmaker.

The student speaker will be Quinn Kamberos, of Littleton, Colorado, who will receive a Bachelor of Arts in English and creative writing with University Honors and highest distinction. She will also receive a minor in cinema.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
1 p.m.
Carver-Hawkeye Arena

This ceremony will include CLAS graduates majoring in actuarial science; applied physics; Asian languages and literatures; astronomy; communication studies; criminology, law, and justice; dance;  data science; enterprise leadership; ethics and public policy; French; German; global health studies; history; interdepartmental studies; international relations; international studies; Italian; journalism and mass communication; linguistics; mathematics; microbiology; music; neuroscience; philosophy; physics; political science; Portuguese; psychology; religious studies; Russian; social work; sociology; Spanish; statistics; theatre arts; and translation.

Dean Sara Sanders and President Barbara Wilson will confer degrees. President Wilson will confer an Honorary Doctorate of Science upon Shirley Schermer, an accomplished archaeologist dedicated to research and advocacy in Iowa and across the country.

The student speaker will be Eleanor Hildebrandt, of Des Moines, Iowa, who will receive a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communication and a Bachelor of Science in global health studies, with University Honors and distinction. She will also receive a minor in German.

Carver College of Medicine
Associated medical sciences degree candidates
2 p.m.
Hancher Auditorium

Associate Provost and Dean Amanda Haertling Thein and Associate Dean David Asprey will deliver welcome messages to the students. The keynote speaker will be Colin Derdeyn, the Krabbenhoft Chair and department executive officer of radiology, director of the Iowa Institute of Biomedical Imaging, and professor of radiology and neurology. Nora Bensellam, of Ames, Iowa, Master of Clinical Anatomy graduate, and Elise Juhl, of Irwin, Iowa, Bachelor of Science in radiation sciences graduate, will be the student speakers. Anthony Knight, clinical associate professor of radiology and director of nuclear medicine technology education, will deliver the charge to the graduates. Associate Provost and Dean Amanda Haertling Thein will confer degrees.

University College
3 p.m.
Virtual ceremony

This ceremony will include University College graduates earning the Bachelor of Applied Studies and Bachelor of Liberal Studies degrees. President Barbara Wilson and Associate Provost and Dean of University College Tanya Uden-Holman will deliver messages to the students. Jan Gorman, adjunct instructor in the College of Education, will be the faculty speaker. Graduate Andrew Pestotnik, of Des Moines, Iowa, will be the student speaker.

Tippie College of Business
5 p.m.
Carver-Hawkeye Arena

UI Vice President for Research Marty Scholtz will confer degrees, and Dean Amy Kristof-Brown will deliver a message to the graduates. Alumna Megan Gustafson (BBA19), professional basketball player for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and Greek League’s Greece Olympiacos, will be the guest speaker, and Zeina Aboushaar, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will be the student speaker.

College of Public Health
6:30 p.m.
Hancher Auditorium

College of Public Health Dean Edith Parker and UI Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Dean of the University College Tanya Uden-Holman will confer degrees. Dean Parker will deliver a message to students. Graduates Jada McDonald, of Sioux City, Iowa, and Andrew Peterson, from Palatine, Illinois, will be the student speakers.

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Sunday, May 14

College of Engineering
Noon
Carver-Hawkeye Arena

UI President Barbara Wilson will deliver messages to students. Anthony Wagner of Fort Dodge, Iowa, will be the student speaker.

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Saturday, May 20

Tippie MBA Programs
10 a.m.
Hancher Auditorium

President Barbara Wilson and Dean Amy Kristof-Brown will confer degrees. Alumnus Spencer Anderson (MBA13), senior director of basketball analytics at Pacers Sports and Entertainment, will be the speaker.

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Friday, June 2

College of Dentistry
3 p.m.
Hancher Auditorium

UI President Barbara Wilson will deliver the Greeting from the University. Dean Clark Stanford will deliver a welcome and message to graduating class. Morgan Scholtes, of Joliet, Illinois, will be the student speaker. Associate Deans’ Sherry Timmons and Michelle Krupp will present honors and awards.  Faculty members Steven Means, Maria Marcela Hernández Luna, Michael Santucci, and John Syrbu will present hoods to the candidates. Graduate Program Directors will recognize certificate candidates.

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Streaming and broadcast

See ceremony details above for live video stream links. Streaming pages will go live 24 hours before the ceremonies, and archival videos will replace livestreams on these pages shortly after the ceremonies conclude.

Social media

Social media users can join the celebration online by using the hashtag #UIowaGrad23 with UI graduation-related posts on their favorite platforms. Some posts will be shared via UI social media channels.