Seattle City Wire

Graduation celebrations already are underway as the UW prepares to honor both the Class of 2022 and welcome back the classes of 2020 and 2021. ‘Airy,’ is seen here in front of the HUB, along with banners recognizing all three classes. Ceremonies return to Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium on June 11 and June 12. UW Tacoma and UW Bothell also have graduation celebration planned.Saleh Alzughaibi/University of Washington

Cue the band: It’s time for “Pomp and Circumstance.”

There will be flowing robes and purple-and-gold tassels. The gonfalons, symbols of the 16 colleges and schools that make up the University of Washington, have been unfurled and prepared. Campus is being adorned and the iconic Drumheller Fountain soon will again be cast in a purple glow.

The June 11 Commencement ceremony in Seattle will be streamed online starting at 12:30 p.m. Doors to Husky Stadium open at 12:30 p.m. “Purple Carpet” programming begins at 12:30 p.m., followed by the procession of graduates at 1:30 p.m. and the Commencement ceremony at about 2 p.m.

The June 12 Return to Husky Stadium Graduation Celebration also will be streamed online beginning at 1:30 p.m. Doors to Husky Stadium open at 1:30 p.m., and the procession begins at 2:30 p.m., with the ceremony set to start at 3 p.m.

On the second weekend in June, for the first time since 2019, the UW will hold in-person commencement ceremonies at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. The University will confer degrees on the Class of 2022, while welcoming alumni from the 2020 and 2021 school years for a Return to Husky Stadium Graduation Celebration.

Nearly 7,000 UW graduates of the Class of 2022 plan to march on Saturday, June 11. Another 2,400 graduates from the classes of 2020 and 2021, whose ceremonies were forced online during the COVID-19 pandemic, are expected to return to the UW and participate in a second ceremony in Husky Stadium on Sunday, June 12. Officials expect about 50,000 family and friends to cheer the graduates on Saturday, and up to 20,000 supporters at Sunday’s ceremony. The exact number of degrees being awarded is listed below.

“Since 2019 we have been eagerly awaiting the moment when we could come together as a community to welcome back the classes of 2020 and 2021, to give them the opportunity to cross the stage in Husky Stadium, and to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of the Class of 2022,” said Denzil Suite, UW Vice President for Student Life. “These students’ university experience has been marked by significant challenges that required them to adapt to an ever-evolving set of public health guidelines under COVID. We couldn’t be happier to join everyone in person, thank them for their resilience, and offer a heartfelt ‘Go Huskies’ to all.”

UW Tacoma will hold its graduation ceremonies June 13 at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup. UW Bothell’s events are scheduled June 15 at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Ed Pavilion in Seattle. Both campuses have grouped graduates into early and late ceremonies according to academic school to accommodate this year’s participants and welcome back alumni from the classes of 2020 and 2021.

In Seattle, four-time Tony Award-winning producer Ron Simons, a UW alumnus who is well known for his work on Broadway and in Hollywood, will deliver the 2022 Commencement address on June 11. Simons’ current Broadway production, a revival of Ntozake Shange’s groundbreaking choreopoem “for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf,” was nominated this year for seven Tony Awards, including production.

UW Tacoma’s events are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Monday, June 13, at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup.

UW Bothell will host ceremonies at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15, at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Ed Pavillion in Seattle. Doors open one hour prior to each ceremony.

Former UW Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences Robert Stacey will speak to the graduates of the classes of 2020 and 2021 on June 12. Stacey is a veteran of the UW, serving more than three decades in teaching and leadership positions. A professor of history, he was dean of Arts & Sciences, the university’s largest college, from 2013 until his retirement in 2021, during which time he helped overcome many of the challenges brought on by the pandemic, including the rapid adaptation to remote learning.

Members of the UW Board of Regents, deans and other representatives of the university’s 16 colleges and schools will participate in the ceremony.

UW President Ana Mari Cauce will present nearly 18,708 degrees to the Class of 2022 across all three University of Washington campuses. The data, drawn from preliminary information that will be presented to the Board of Regents next week, is broken down by campus below:

• For work completed at the Seattle campus, about 14,842 degrees will be conferred, specifically: 8,746 bachelor’s degrees, 4,664 master’s degrees, 607 professional degrees, 16 Educational Specialist degrees, and 810 doctoral degrees.
• At UW Bothell, about 2,011 degrees will be conferred, including 1,787 bachelor’s degrees and 225 master’s degrees.
• And at UW Tacoma, students will receive about 1,854 degrees, including 1,496 bachelor’s degrees, 357 master’s degrees and one doctoral degree.

Degrees are awarded to those who have completed academic requirements during the 2021-2022 academic year. Many colleges and schools also have separate graduation programs and investiture ceremonies.

Original source can be found here.