Nearly 700 Emporia State University students are candidates for degrees during spring commencement ceremonies at White Auditorium on May 10 and 11.
Graduate ceremonies begin at 6 p.m. Friday, May 10.
Undergraduates will receive their degrees at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 11.
White Auditorium is at 111 E. Sixth Ave. in downtown Emporia.
Wint Winter, a member of the Kansas Board of Regents, will give remarks during the graduate ceremonies. Regent Blake Benson will address the undergraduates.
Doors of the auditorium open at 4:30 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday.
For those with accessibility concerns, arriving early is recommended. The best entrance to the building for accessibility is the east end of the north doors facing Sixth Avenue. Although not a designated drop-off spot, the easiest place to help passengers out is on Market Street, just south of Sixth Avenue.
For those without their own wheelchair or transport chair, White Auditorium has one wheelchair and one transport chair available. ESU staff at graduation will assist individuals needing to use these to enter and exit the auditorium. The auditorium’s wheelchair and transport chair are only to assist individuals with mobility concerns enter and exit the building. They are not available as seating for the graduation ceremony.
Accessible seating is available on the floor behind the graduates and on the second-floor concourse. An elevator to the second floor is available, and a wheelchair lift from there to the concourse with someone available to assist with using it.
A seating chart indicating accessible seating areas can be downloaded at https://www.emporia.edu/documents/2134/Graduation_Seating.pdf.
Please contact ESU Student Accessibility and Support Services during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, to make accommodation requests 48 hours in advance. You can reach SASS by phone at 620.341.6637 or email at sass@emporia.edu.
For those unable to attend, all ceremonies will be streamed on the Internet live. The link for the live streams as well as other information can be found online at www.emporia.edu/about-emporia-state-university/commencement/.