Event Actions
SCHEDULE May 19, 2023
- 9:00a Lawn Ceremony
- 11:30p BME Diploma Ceremony Old Cabell Hall
- 12:30p BME Reception at Nau-Gibson Hall/South Commons
TICKETS (LAWN CEREMONY)
- Lawn Ceremony e-tickets: click here
TICKETS (BME DIPLOMA CEREMONY)
- Each graduate will receive FIVE (5) PAPER TICKETS to the BME Diploma Ceremony at Old Cabell Hall. Not 6 tickets, as initially shared by the Dean's Office! This is due to an 851-person seating limit at Old Cabell Hall.
- Where to pick up tickets: We will email you when tickets are available for pick up from the BME Main Office, MR5 2010. It's usually a week or two before courses end. You can pick up tickets during normal operating hours up until 5:00pm on Friday, May 17th. Thereafter, tickets will move to Kitter's front porch, where you can continue to pick them up during daylight hours up until Sunday, May 19 at 9:00 a.m. Email kitter@virginia.edu for the address. The location is convenient to Old Cabell Hall, the South Garage and South Commons.
- If tickets are not picked up, or otherwise arranged for, by Sunday, May 19 at 9:00 a.m., then we will assume they are safe to be released for another guest's use. If this is not the case, don't panic-- text Kitter at 434 989-2181.
TICKET LOTTERY
LINK: Lottery for a 6th Ticket to the BME Diploma Ceremony
- Do you have 6 guests? Secure an extra ticket from another student, or enter the Lottery for a 6th Ticket. As of 4/29/2024 we have 75 tickets to share.
- Do you have fewer than 5 guests? Share your unused ticket(s) with another graduating student, or surrender unused tickets for BME to distribute.
- Unticketed guests: Once all ticketed guests are seated, guests without tickets will be admitted. In the past, we have been able to seat all guests.
LOCATION AND WEATHER CONTINGENCIES
- Fair-Weather Location: Old Cabell Hall, Auditorium (11:30 a.m.)
- Inclement-Weather Location: Same | Severe-Weather Location: Same
- BME Department Contacts: Kitter Bishop (434) 245-0494, kitter@virginia.edu | Karen Sleezer, kas2ue@virginia.edu
RECEPTION | FOOD
- Following the Diploma Ceremony, escorts will be posted at the Old Cabell Hall elevators to help mobility-impaired guests travel the ADA route (Map) to South Commons (location of the reception). Everyone else will be guided along a more direct route that has stairs.
- Light sandwiches and gluten free snacks will be provided by Mona Lisa Pasta in South Commons (adjacent to Gibson & Nau Halls) after the Diploma Ceremony, around 12:30 p.m.
PARKING
- Here is official Parking Info from the Office of Major Events.
- BME guests might consider parking at the Student Wellness Center Garage (Maps), the UVA Health South Garage (Maps), or Scott Stadium. These are all convenient to the Clark Hall/Bryan Hall Entrance to the Lawn. Afterwards, they are convenient to South Commons. The downside is that there is no Shuttle Service from these parking areas. If you park here, you'll be walking a little less than a half mile up to the Lawn.
PARKING FOR MOBILITY-IMPAIRED GUESTS
- We can secure parking passes directly at Old Cabell Hall in the "C-1 Lot" for disabled and/or mobility-impaired family members.
- To secure a C-1 Parking pass, email kitter@virginia.edu or call 434 245-0494 well ahead of time. Kitter must talk/email with the organizing parent or the family member who is doing the driving and parking. (Why? because in the past, when I've released passes to your student, the pass tends to go unused).
PRONOUNCING YOUR NAME
- Undergraduate students: If your name is likely to challenge Dr. Allen, then please practice with him, or email him an audio file or phonetic spelling: teallen@virginia.edu
- Graduate students: If your name (or thesis title) is likely to challenge Dr. Griffin, then please practice with him or email him an audio file or phonetic spelling: drgriffin@virginia.edu
- P.S. You may change your preferred name on transcripts and diplomas by emailing ureg@virginia.edu as per Frequently Asked Questions for Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender Nonconforming Students | Office For Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, U.Va.
CAPS AND GOWNS
- Caps and Gowns: click here
- PhD Hoods: The School of Engineering provides graduating PhDs with their hoods. Your PhD mentor "hoods" you as part of the diploma ceremony. BS, MS and ME students do not receive hoods.
THIRD YEAR VOLUNTEERS
- Volunteer training is during exam week. We will do a dry run of the ceremony and reception from the perspective of an usher.
- All volunteers will get an event badge and wristband. Some will do a brief crowd manager training online that yields a whistle and another badge. You'll need all this stuff to enter Old Cabell Hall while the Lawn Ceremony is happening. If you are unable to attend the Annual Training, email Kitter@virginia.edu to arrange pick up of this gear.
- Plan to arrive the Old Cabell Auditorium by 10:00am on Sunday. Enter Old Cabell Hall from New Cabell Hall at the side entrance off the C-1 parking lot. You will need your gear to enter Cabell Hall while the Lawn Ceremony is still taking place.
FACULTY
- Regalia is available for pick up in the BME Office starting (TBD). After 5p on May 17, email Kitter@virginia.edu to arrange pick up from her front porch, which is convenient to Old Cabell Hall and South Garage. Regalia will NOT be carried to Old Cabell Hall on Sunday. Return regalia promptly to Kitter's porch or the BME Main Office (MR5 2010) just after graduation.
- Meet in basement of Old Cabell after the Lawn Ceremony, no later than 11:15a.
- If you need to enter Old Cabell Hall before the Lawn ceremony ends (before 11a), you must get an event staff badge and wristband from Kitter ahead of time.
SECURITY
- Metal detectors and clear bag policy.
- Faculty who are attending the Lawn Ceremony and Diploma Ceremony: No special instructions.
- Family members who are attending only the diploma ceremony and want to enter Old Cabell before the Lawn Ceremony ends: Event Badge and wristband from Kitter, see above.