The University of Texas at Austin Celebrates 125th Spring Commencement Saturday, May 17

May 15, 2008

E-mail this article

AUSTIN, Texas — The 125th spring commencement ceremony at The University of Texas at Austin will be held at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 17, on the university's Main Mall where thousands of students and guests will gather for the celebration.

The ceremony, which begins with a 7 p.m. carillon prelude and ends with a fireworks display and the singing of "The Eyes of Texas," will recognize about 7,400 students who will be conferred their degrees. The university's Tower will be illuminated orange with "08" displayed on the sides of the building in honor of the graduates.

Jody Conradt, a legend in women's basketball and intercollegiate athletics administration at The University of Texas at Austin, will be the keynote speaker.

Families and friends arriving early for the event will be entertained by a steel pan musical performance at 6:30 p.m., followed by the carillon prelude and then a concert featuring a wind ensemble and choir. The procession of degree candidates at 8 p.m. begins the ceremony.

Public seating on the Main and South malls will not open until 5 p.m. when all work in the event arena is complete and event personnel are in place for the evening ceremony. At 5 p.m., admission to the Main and South Malls will be on a first come, first served basis so everyone planning to attend the ceremony will have an equal opportunity for seating. For this reason, it is not possible to save seats. No tickets are required for commencement guests. Beginning at 6 p.m., guest seating also will be available in adjacent indoor air-conditioned locations where a live video telecast can be viewed.

Parking for commencement is free in designated areas on a first come, first served basis. On Saturday, May 17, with the exception of spaces marked "At All Times," all university parking garages and most surface lots are available. Parking information for visitors is available online.
Parking garages are located as follows:

• San Jacinto Garage (SJG) - On the east side of San Jacinto Boulevard just north of 24th Street.
• Brazos Garage (BRG) - On the northeast corner of Brazos Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Most appropriate parking location for those attending individual college, school and department ceremonies in Gregory Gymnasium.
• 27th Street Garage (TSG) - On the southeast corner of 27th Street and University Avenue.
• Manor Garage (MAG) - On the southeast corner of Robert Dedman Drive and Clyde Littlefield Drive. Most appropriate parking location for those attending individual college, school and department ceremonies in the Recreational Sports Center.
• Speedway Garage (SWG) - On the southwest corner of Speedway and 27th Street.
• Trinity Garage (TRG) - On the southeast corner of Trinity Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Most appropriate parking location for those attending individual college, school and department ceremonies in the Frank Erwin Center.

More information about the 125th spring commencement is available online.

Note to news editors and producers: Parking for print and broadcast news media representatives is available in Lot F-11 (north of Gregory Gym) near Speedway Street, by showing news affiliation identification to guards at entrances. Parking areas in Lot F-11 for "live" television microwave and satellite vehicles will be marked by orange cones. Television photographers may set up cameras on the media platform on the Main Mall and plug into a mult-box that will send their audio and video signals via fiber optic cable to another mult-box near their truck in Lot F-11. The university also will provide a live feed from its own cameras recording the event.

For more information, contact: Robert D. Meckel, Office of Public Affairs, 512-475-7847.