Commencement #Yale2017: Events to celebrate the newest graduates

Yale will celebrate its 316th Commencement with three days of activities Saturday-Monday, May 20-22.

Highlights include a Baccalaureate Address by Peter Salovey and Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway; a Class Day address by Theo Epstein ’95, president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball and former general manager of the Boston Red Sox; and a joint commissioning ceremony for students who have completed their ROTC training. General Michael V. Hayden, a retired United States Air Force four-star general and former director of the National Security Agency, principal deputy director of National Intelligence, and director of the Central Intelligence Agency, will deliver remarks at the ceremony.

Live streaming and social media sharing

Whether you’re on campus or unable to attend in person, you can enjoy festivities online. In addition, you can follow events on social media and share your own images and tweets. Here’s how:

     • Watch Class Day and Commencement ceremonies live on the Yale YouTube channel.

     • Follow Yale on  Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for images and stories about the weekend’s activities.

     • Use the hashtag #Yale2017 on Twitter and on Instagram to share your photos and impressions.

     • Follow @Yale for live tweets from Class Day and Commencement.

     • Email photos you’d like to share on the Yale Facebook page to socialmedia@yale.edu.

     • Download images of Commencement 2017 taken by Yale photographers during and after the weekend on our Flickr page.

     • Visit the YaleNews Commencement 2017 page for stories, photos, and videos about the weekend’s activities as they unfold.

Baccalaureate service

Graduating seniors, their friends, and families are invited to attend the Yale College Baccalaureate at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (for students in Berkeley, Calhoun, Davenport, and Ezra Stiles colleges); at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday (for students in Branford, Jonathan Edwards, Silliman, and Trumbull colleges); or at 11 a.m. on Sunday (for students in Timothy Dwight, Morse, Pierson, and Saybrook colleges). The ceremony features remarks by President Peter Salovey and Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway. It will take place in Woolsey Hall, northwest corner of Grove and College streets.

Class Day exercises

Topping their academic robes with creative headgear is a longstanding undergraduate tradition on Class Day, which is taking place on Old Campus on Sunday, May 21, at 2 p.m. Class Day speaker Theo Epstein won wide acclaim for his leadership abilities, first at the Boston Red Sox, when he became the youngest general manager in Major League Baseball. He helped lead them in 2004 to their first World Series Championship in 86 years — making him, at age 30, the youngest general manager to win a World Series. Following that, as the president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, he helped lead them in 2016 to their first World Series Championship in 108 years.

Class Day also includes such traditions as the planting of the Class Ivy, reciting of the Ivy Ode, awarding of top academic and athletic prizes to students, and the singing of Yale’s alma mater, “Bright College Years,” while waving a white handkerchief.

Watch Class Day exercises in real-time here.

University Commencement

All Yale degrees are formally conferred during the Commencement ceremony on Old Campus, which will take place on Monday, May 22 at 10:30 a.m. During the ceremony, the deans of Yale College and all the graduate and professional schools formally present their approved candidates to the president. The president, in turn, confers the degrees and admits new graduates to each degree’s “rights and responsibilities.” Student marshals from each residential college and school accept symbolic diplomas from the president on behalf of their colleagues. Smaller degree-granting ceremonies are then held at all the schools and residential colleges. Watch the Commencement ceremony in real-time here.

ROTC Joint Commissioning Ceremony

The Yale Navy and Air Force ROTC units welcomed their first students in 2012. The second group of seniors to complete their ROTC training at Yale will be formally commissioned at a ceremony on Monday, May 22, at 4:30 p.m. General Haydn will make remarks, and a reception will follow.

Other weekend activities

Commencement weekend will also include receptions, performances, and other special events. For a complete list of activities and for tips and information, visit Yale’s Commencement website. You can also download the Yale 2017 app, which features information about what’s happening and how to get there.