Learn more about OHIO’s Spring Commencement 2021 events, activities

Approximately 5,344 students are expected to participate in Ohio University’s Spring Commencement ceremonies starting Friday, April 30 through Sunday, May 2, at Peden Stadium and virtually. 

The graduate commencement ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. Friday, April 30, for both master’s and doctoral degrees. Undergraduate ceremonies will take place at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 1, 4 p.m. Saturday, May 1 and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 2. 

All commencement ceremonies will take place rain or shine in Peden Stadium and are expected to last two and half hours each. Gates will open to the public 90 minutes prior to each ceremony start time. Seating is general admission and tickets are required to enter. Around 3,000 students indicated they would participate ceremonies in-person.

Students who decide to participate virtually will be able to access the live stream link on the day of their ceremony by visiting ohio.edu/commencement. 

Spring Commencement 2021 speakers

Graduate Ceremony

Dr. Susan Williams was named as the 2020 Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award winner, and has been a Professor of Anatomy in OHIO’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine since 2003. Williams has been honored for her research focus on how mammals (including humans) have developed the ability to feed. She is widely recognized for her work on the development of the nervous system, muscles and skeleton, starting from infancy. Recently, Williams was awarded a National Institutes of Health grant for her medical research.

Undergraduate Ceremonies

Leanne Ford, a 2003 OHIO graduate and HGTV star, will deliver OHIO’s 2021 Undergraduate Spring Commencement address virtually. Ford is a self-taught interior designer and co-host of Home Again with The Fords on HGTV, starring alongside her brother, Steve. Together, the two have turned some of Pittsburgh’s most dated structures into magazine-worthy homes. Ford’s renovation of a 1907 schoolhouse into a home in Pittsburgh created national recognition for her work, launching her career as an interior designer. Her work has since been featured on the cover of Domino and House Beautiful as well as in the New York Times, Architectural Digest, Country Living, GQ, Lonny, Elle Decor, Martha Stewart, Better Homes and Gardens, Redbook, MyDomaine, Refinery 29, and more. Before Home Again with the Fords, which launched in January, she also co-hosted Restored by the Fords on the same channel.

Undergraduate degrees will be conferred on Saturday, May 1, and Sunday, May 2.

Saturday, May 1 at 9 a.m.*

• College of Business
• Scripps College of Communication

Saturday, May 1 at 4 p.m.*

• College of Arts and Sciences
• Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education
• Russ College of Engineering

Sunday, May 2 at 2 p.m.*

• College of Fine Arts
• Honors Tutorial College
• College of Health Sciences and Professions
• Center for International Studies
• University College

*Does not denote order of conferral

For more information, visit www.ohio.edu/commencement. All commencement ceremonies will also be live-streamed from that page. 

WHAT: Ohio University graduate and undergraduate Spring Commencement ceremonies

WHEN: Friday, April 30, at 9 a.m. with doors opening at approximately 7:30 a.m.; Saturday, May 1, at 9 a.m. with doors opening at approximately 7:30 a.m.; Saturday, May 1, at 4 p.m. with doors opening at approximately 2:30 p.m.; and Sunday, May 2, at 2 p.m. with doors opening at approximately 12:30 p.m. Tickets are required, and the ceremonies are expected to last approximately 2.5 hours each. 

WHERE: Peden Stadium, Richland Avenue, Athens.

Parking for Spring Commencement is available in any regular non-metered, non-restricted space within a dark green or purple lot on campus from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, April 30, through Sunday, May 2. A map detailing these parking lots is available at: www.ohio.edu/transportation-parking/map. 

Disability parking will be available at Peden Stadium Lot 132. A state-issued disability placard or license plate is required for long term parking. The Peden Stadium parking lot will also accommodate disability drop off for loading/unloading needs. 

For more information about commencement-specific parking, please visit www.ohio.edu/transportation-parking/2021-spring-commencement-transportation-parking-information.  

Please pay close attention to campus signage and event staff who will be on site prior to commencement to provide assistance and direction. Members of the Ohio University Police Department will also be on site to assist with parking.