More than 700 Emporia State University students are candidates for degrees during winter commencement ceremonies at White Auditorium on Dec. 16 and 17.
Graduate ceremonies begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16. Undergraduates will receive their degrees at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17. The auditorium is at 111 E. Sixth Ave. in downtown Emporia.
Carl Ice, vice chair of the Kansas Board of Regents, will give remarks during the Friday night graduate ceremony. Regent Wint Winter will give remarks, and Dr. John Wade, professor of psychology and 2022 Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor, will address the undergraduates.
Doors of the auditorium open at 4:30 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday.
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.
For other assistive devices, services or accommodations, please contact ESU Student Accessibility and Support Services during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, to make requests 48 hours in advance. You can reach SASS by phone at 620.341.6637, fax at 620.341.6640 or email at sass@emporia.edu.
For those unable to attend, both ceremonies will be streamed on the Internet live. The link for the live stream as well as other information can be found online at www.emporia.edu/about-emporia-state-university/commencement/.