The University of Nebraska–Lincoln will confer more than 1,300 degrees during commencement exercises Dec. 17 and 18 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
The arena, 400 Pinnacle Arena Drive, will host a ceremony for students earning graduate and professional degrees at 3 p.m. Dec. 17 and one for those earning bachelor’s degrees at 9 a.m. Dec. 18. Doors open to the public at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 17 and 7:30 a.m. Dec. 18.
In addition, the Class of 2020, as well as May and August 2021 graduates who were unable to attend their ceremonies, will be celebrated during December commencement. More than two dozen are expected to do so. These graduates must have signed up to attend.
Shane Farritor, Lederer Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Nebraska, will deliver the undergraduate commencement address. Sarah Gervais, Susan J. Rosowski Professor of psychology at Nebraska, will speak to the graduate and professional degree earners.
Before joining the Husker faculty in 1998, Farritor worked in the Field and Space Robotics Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Unmanned Vehicle Lab at C.S. Draper Laboratories. He has studied at the Kennedy Space Center, Goddard Space Flight Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Farritor is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He is also co-founder and chief technology officer of Virtual Incision, a company that makes miniature robots used in intestinal surgeries. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Nebraska and master’s and doctoral degrees from MIT.
Gervais has a dual doctoral degree in psychology and women’s studies from Pennsylvania State University and currently serves as the associate chair in the Department of Psychology. Her research focuses on sexual objectification, dehumanization and sexual violence and lies at the intersections of social psychology, gender, the law and public health. Her work is funded by the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, and she has more than 80 publications. Gervais has earned the Georgia Babladelis Best Paper Award and the Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize from the American Psychological Association. She also has been recognized for her mentoring and teaching, receiving the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Education and the Distinguished Teaching Award from Nebraska.
Chancellor Ronnie Green will preside over the commencement ceremonies.
In compliance with the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department’s Directed Health Measures, all faculty, staff, students and visitors are required to use a facial covering at all times when indoors. If health directives change before commencement, students will be notified and updates will be posted here.
To maintain a secure environment, the arena enforces a clear-bag policy that limits the size and type of bag that may be brought into the venue. Details are available here. To avoid inconveniences, guests are encouraged to arrive early and travel light.
No tickets are required for the ceremonies. Guests should enter the arena via the southwest door along R Street. The public may sit in any non-reserved seats other than on the main floor, which is set for graduates, faculty and dignitaries. Handicap seating is available on the concourse level in Sections 106, 107, 110, 112, 114, 117 and 118. Beverage stands will be open. Open captioning for people with hearing impairment will be provided through the ribbon screens at the corners of the arena concourse level.
Guest services and first aid will be on Level 3 at Gate 112.
Paid parking, including handicap spaces, is available in Haymarket area garages and on the street. For more information, click here.
A drop-off area for mobility-restricted guests will be available south of the arena, on R Street.
Parking maps are available here. Street congestion may occur.
Graduating students and returning alumni are to check in no later than 2:30 p.m. for the graduate and professional degree ceremony and no later than 8:30 a.m. for the undergraduate ceremony. Graduates and returning alumni should enter the arena via the south lobby entrance, off R Street. Participants should bring their NCard, or a photo ID and NU ID number, for check-in.
Graduates are asked to stay for the entire ceremony.
The ceremonies will be streamed here and broadcast live on Spectrum channel 1303, Allo channel 23 and Kinetic channel 1080.