Rice to hold 109th commencement May 6-7

Commencement will feature address by Sonia Nazario

The Class of 2021 graduation marked the first time Rice Stadium has ever hosted commencement. (Photo by Tommy LaVergne)

Historic Rice Stadium will host ceremonies for the 109th commencement of Rice University May 6 and 7, highlighted by an address from a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.

The Class of 2021 graduation marked the first time Rice Stadium has ever hosted commencement. (Photo by Tommy LaVergne)

The commencement address will be delivered by Sonia Nazario , a reporter, author and humanitarian renowned for covering some of the nation’s most vexing social issues, such as hunger, drug addiction and immigration. She is best known for her book “Enrique’s Journey,” based upon her Pulitzer Prize-winning series of Los Angeles Times stories about a Honduran boy’s struggle to find his mother in the U.S.

Rice’s Class of 2022 will receive degrees during a two-day series of ceremonies. Conferral of degrees to all undergraduate and graduate degree candidates will follow Nazario’s Saturday address in Rice Stadium.

The Class of 2022 will make the traditional walk through the Sallyport on Friday afternoon.

All commencement ceremonies will be broadcast online for family members and friends unable to attend in person. Streaming will begin 20 minutes before scheduled start times at https://commencement.rice.edu/video/current-event .

May 6

  • 8:30 a.m., Advanced Degrees Convocation, Tudor Fieldhouse.
  • 9 a.m. Master of Accounting Investiture Ceremony, Shell Auditorium, McNair Hall.
  • 10:30 a.m., Doctoral Convocation and Hooding Ceremony, Tudor Fieldhouse.
  • 1 p.m., Jones School Investiture for MBA Programs, Tudor Fieldhouse.
  • 5:30 p.m., Undergraduate Sallyport Walk-through, Lovett Hall
  • 7:30 p.m., Undergraduate Convocation, Rice Stadium.

May 7

  • 8:30 a.m., Plenary Commencement Ceremony for conferral of degrees to all undergraduate and graduate degree candidates, Rice Stadium.

A calendar of events with all commencement activities is available at https://commencement.rice.edu/all-events#!view/week/date/20220504 . Visit Rice’s commencement website for updates.

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