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Commencement

• General
    Information
• Ceremonies
• Eligibility
• Travel and
    Parking
• Rain
• Common
    Questions
• Quick Contact
• Student Profiles
• Broadcast and
    Webcast
• News

General Information

Information regarding printed announcements, suitable for mailing to your family and friends, is available from the URI Bookstore (401-874-2722) and jostens.com. Formal photographs may be ordered from Chappell at gradimages.com, (800.424.3686).

Audience members may take photographs during the ceremony only while seated and are not permitted near the graduate-seating or platform areas at any time.

Yearbooks

The Renaissance will be on sale during Commencement in the booth across from Memorial Union. To order the Renaissance now through Sunday, May 17, call the Yearbook Office at 401-874-5897 or the Office of Student Involvement and Experiential Learning at 401-874-2726. Or go to uri.edu/yearbook/buy to print out the form you'll need to purchase by mail or in person. Books will be shipped in late Fall 2009 to the permanent address listed on the order form received from the Yearbook Office.

Broadcast and Webcast

The Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 17, will be broadcast and Webcast Live on Sunday, May 17, making it possible for many to enjoy the ceremony -- virtually. Link here for more details.

Disability Assistance

If you have a disability and need an accomodation, please call 401-874-2098 at least three business days before Commencement. For TTY assistance, please call the Rhode Island Relay Service at 1-800-745-5555.

• FM listening stations, wheelchairs, and transportation are available at Disability Services Stations located at the north entrance to the Ryan Center on Saturday and in front of Bliss Hall on Sunday. Maps in the Commencement Program will indicate these locations, as well as well as the location of the disability seating section.
• Sign language interpreters for both the Main and Graduate Commencement ceremonies will be provided. Requests for additional sign language interpreters must be made no later than April 24. Seating registration for this service is suggested.
• Wheelchair reservations are required. Please note that reservations can be held only until noon on Saturday (Graduate Ceremony) and until 11:30 a.m. on Sunday (Main Ceremony). After these times, wheelchairs will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to individuals without reservations. if you own a wheelchair and are able to bring it, we recommend that you do so.
• Reservations for the disability seating section are suggested. Reservations will be held until noon on Saturday and until 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.
• Pets: Only certified service animals are permitted on campus during commencement exercises. For the safety of all guests, please leave pets at home.
• If you have a physical or medical liability, you can reserve a priority parking permit by calling Visitor Information Center at 401-874-2133 at least one week before commencement.

Parking and Information Services

Upon your arrival, University police and security officers will direct you to designated parking lots within walking distance of the commencement ceremonies. For additional information, visit the Parking Services web site at uri.edu/parking.

–Graduate Commencement (Saturday): Attendees may park on the North and South sides of the Ryan Center in lots 20 and 35.

–Main Commencement (Sunday): Enter the campus via Upper College Road or Old North Road and follow directions of University Police and security officers. The RIPTA campus transit service will be operating throughout the campus.

–Walking Around Campus: Parking lots and individual events may be located up to a mile apart. Please wear comfortable walking shoes. Many campus paths lead uphill; some are unpaved. The RIPTA transit service will be operating throughout the campus.

Tickets and Rain Plan

Tickets are not required for either Commencement ceremony, and there are no guest limits. Guests will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis.

• HOWEVER, in the event of rain, the Main Commencement Ceremony will be held at the Ryan Center. Bachelor's degree recipients will be allowed two guest tickets to the Ryan Center. Tickets are required and will be given to graduates upon their purchase of academic regalia at the University Bookstore in the Memorial Union. Additional guests should go directly to the indoor rain sites listed for each of the Colleges. The Main Commencement Ceremony will be simulcast to the indoor college rain sites.
  

If the rain plan is implemented, the decision will be made in the early morning, and information will be available on the Web site (uri.edu) and automated phone lines (401-874-7669, 401-874-1000). Signs will be posted at all campus entrances.