Dear Graduating Students:
I know that you are thinking about many things this fall (your classes, your future job prospects, or USC’s great football season) besides commencement next May. Still, I wanted to share with you our arrangements for commencement so that you and your families can plan ahead.
For some years we have held our graduation ceremony on the Sunday after USC’s main commencement ceremony. Although this arrangement was convenient in some ways, it was not ideal in others. The law school commencement ceremony requires the active participation of many staff, which meant asking our employees to give up their weekends. As you know, our staff work very hard during the year to make your experience at USC productive and enjoyable. Demanding that staff work on weekends has not been good for morale. Another complication for the past two years has been the Sunday commencement falling on Mother’s Day, as it also does for several years upcoming. This conflict frustrated many faculty and staff, as well as some students. Finally, the law school Sunday commencement undermined university efforts to create a unified graduation celebration.
For all these reasons, we have decided to hold our commencement on Friday with the rest of the university. This academic year, commencement will be on May 16 in McCarthy Quad. To minimize difficulties with crowds and parking, our ceremony will begin at 3:30 p.m. The university’s main commencement ceremony is held in the morning, so the campus will be far less congested during our celebration.
Tickets will not be needed because our arrangements allow for ample seating. We will have a tent that should accommodate all graduates and guests, ensuring that the ceremony location will be shaded and comfortable.
I hope that the Friday commencement will be a wonderful event for you and for your families.
Sincerely,
Robert K. Rasmussen
Dean and Carl Mason Franklin Chair in Law
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