EAST LANSING — As the fall semester comes to a close, thousands of Michigan State University students are preparing to walk across the stage to receive their diplomas.
About 4,000 students in baccalaureate, masters, doctoral and professional programs at MSU will graduate on Friday and Saturday at the Breslin Student Events Center, located at 534 Birch Road.
All ceremonies will be livestreamed at MSU’s commencement ceremonies web page.
Here’s what you need to know about each commencement ceremony, including what you can, and cannot, bring into the Breslin Center and who is speaking.
When is commencement?
Fall semester commencement will take place over two days, Dec. 13 and Dec. 14.
The ceremony for students receiving advanced degrees, including masters and doctoral degrees and educational specialists is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Breslin Center.
Both baccalaureate degree ceremonies will take place on Saturday, Dec. 14. At 10 a.m., the colleges of arts and letters, education, music, social science, and nursing, as well as Broad Business School, James Madison College and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities will hold their ceremony.
At 2 p.m. Saturday, the colleges of agriculture and natural resources, communication arts and sciences, engineering, natural science, as well as Lyman Briggs College will hold their ceremony.
Who will be speaking?
Teresa Sullivan, a former MSU interim provost and former University of Virginia president, will speak at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 13. Sullivan will receive an honorary degree of humanities. She served as interim provost at Michigan State from 2019 to 2020. She has also been vice president and graduate dean of the University of Texas, provost at the University of Michigan, and the president of the University of Virginia for eight years. She graduated from MSU’s James Madison College.
MSU alum Jillian Lorenz, co-founder of The Barre Code, will speak Saturday at 10 a.m. Lorenz will receive an honorary doctor of business. She graduated from MSU in 2000 with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering, and in 2010 co-founded The Barre Code, a barre fitness company.
MSU alum Darius Adamczyk, chairman of Goldman Sachs Private Asset Investments and Operations, will speak Saturday at 2 p.m. He will receive an honorary doctor of engineering. Adamczyk graduated from MSU with a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering and is a former executive chairman for Honeywell.
What can I bring?
There are limitations on what can be taken into the Breslin Center. Small transparent bags are allowed, as are cameras, camcorders and certain carrying cases.
What can I bring?
Prohibited items include noisemakers, selfie sticks, pets, signs and weapons of any form. Anyone entering the Breslin Center will have to move through a metal detector.
Also, no food or beverages — including bottled water — will be allowed. The Breslin Center will offer a limited concessions menu during the ceremonies.
A full list of Breslin Center rules and guidelines is available online.
Contact Sarah Atwood at satwood@lsj.com, or follow her on X @sarahmatwood.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State University fall commencement: What you need to know