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More than 5,800 to Receive Degrees at Duke Commencement Sunday

duke students throw caps into theair
Eric Ferreri

Duke University will award more than 5,800 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees during its annual commencement ceremony Sunday, May 8.

Duke President Vincent E. Price will preside over the 9 a.m. ceremony at Wallace Wade Stadium, and General Motors CEO and Chair Mary Barra will deliver the commencement address.

An expected 1,712 undergraduates will receive their degrees Sunday, including about 350 from North Carolina. While Duke’s Sunday commencement ceremony is the signature event of graduation weekend, it follows several days of smaller events orchestrated by schools, programs and campus groups.

Commencement is open to the public and Duke will stream the event live on the university’s YouTube channel. Follow commencement and contribute to the conversation on social media using the hashtag #Duke2022.

Duke will also award four honorary degrees Sunday. The recipients are:

  • Sylvia Acevedo, a nonprofit leader and rocket scientist who currently serves on the board of Qualcomm, who will receive an honorary doctor of science degree; 
  • Akinwumi A. Adesina, a globally renowned development economist, agricultural development expert and president of the African Development Bank Group, who will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree;
  • Patrick Brown, founder and chief visionary officer of Impossible Foods, which makes meat and dairy products from plants, who will receive an honorary doctor of science degree;
  • Tom Catena, the medical director and sole surgeon at Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains of central Sudan, who will receive an honorary doctor of science degree.

Priya Parkash, a senior from Pakistan, will deliver the student commencement address. Parkash graduates with a bachelor’s degree in statistical science and economics and a minor in religious studies. Among her many activities at Duke, Parkash has advocated for international students, served as president of the Pakistani Students Association, founded the Duke Actuarial Society, served as an editor at The Chronicle, and was a teaching assistant in the economics department.

About 13,000 guests are expected to attend the main commencement exercise, according to Duke’s Office of Special Events and University Ceremonies, which oversees graduation weekend planning.

There is ample general parking available in close proximity to Wallace Wade Stadium, the majority of which will be in the Science Drive Parking Garage. Graduates are recommended to park and drop-off in the Blue Zone. Additional guest parking will be available in the Blue Zone, PGIV & Chemistry lots. A parking map is available here.

Guests with mobility impairments can park in the Grounds Lot. Duke will provide overflow parking on Level 2 in the Science Drive Garage. Both lots are accessible via NC-751. ADA vans will be available to transport guests with mobility issues from these areas to the respective entrances to Wallace Wade Stadium.

For the main ceremony Sunday, May 8, park-and-ride shuttles will be available from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. See this diagram for the park and ride shuttles as well as this traffic information.

 

Other ceremonies

On Friday, May 6 at 10 a.m.: Sonia Sekhar MPP ’14, deputy director at the NY State of Health, will address graduates of the Sanford School of Public Policy’s Class of 2022 Master of Public Policy, Master of International Development Policy, International Master of Environmental Policy and Ph.D. in Public Policy programs in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The event is not open to the public but will be livestreamed on Sanford’s YouTube channel. 

On Friday, May 6 at 1 p.m.: The Sanford School of Public Policy will honor graduating public policy majors with a ceremony and reception in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The event is not open to the public but will be livestreamed on Sanford’s YouTube channel. 

On Friday, May 6 at 5 p.m.: Tom Finke, retired chairman & CEO of Barings LLC, will address graduates of The Fuqua School of Business’ Master of Management Studies: Foundations of Business Class of 2022 and Master of Quantitative Management: Business Analytics Class of 2022, in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The event is not open to the public but will be livestreamed on Fuqua’s YouTube channel.

On Friday, May 6, at 7 p.m.: The MD Program at the Duke School of Medicine will hold its Hippocratic Oath Ceremony in Duke Chapel, followed by a reception in Penn Pavilion.

On Saturday, May 7 at 6 p.m.: The Doctor of Physical Therapy program within the Duke School of Medicine will hold its graduation at the Washington Duke Inn. The event is by invitation only but will be livestreamed here.

On Saturday May 7th, at 10:30 a.m.: The Master of Biostatistics program within the Duke School of Medicine will recognize and celebrate 46 graduates in a private ceremony in Durham.

On Saturday, May 7, The Fuqua School of Business has two ceremonies.

At 9 a.m., Debbie Allen, entertainment executive and entrepreneur, will address graduates of The Fuqua School of Business Global Executive MBA Class of 2019, Global Executive and Weekend Executive MBA Class of 2022, Master of Science in Quantitative Management: Business Analytics Class of 2022, Accelerated Master of Science in Quantitative Management: Business Analytics Class of 2022, and Master of Science in Quantitative Management: Health Analytics Class of 2022.

At 1 p.m., Allen will address the Daytime MBA Class of 2022 and Ph.D. program graduates. Both Saturday services take place in Cameron Indoor Stadium and are not open to the public, but will be livestreamed on Fuqua’s YouTube channel.

On Friday, May 6, The Graduate School will host a book signing with leading legal scholar, historian and award-winning author Tomiko Brown-Nagin (A.M.’93, Ph.D.’02 History). The event will run from 3 to 4 p.m. and will feature Brown-Nagin’s new book, a biography of Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to serve as federal judge. The event is open to the public, and attendees should RSVP.

On Saturday, May 7, The Graduate School will hold two Ph.D. hooding ceremonies for its 2021-22 doctoral graduates: 9-10:30 a.m. for the humanities and social sciences, and 2-3:30 p.m. for the biomedical sciences, physical sciences, and engineering. The school will also honor Brown-Nagin as its 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient during the 9 a.m. ceremony. The ceremonies are not open to the public but will be livestreamed on The Graduate School’s YouTube channel.

On Saturday, May 7 at 9 a.m., Dale Threatt-Taylor, executive director for The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina, will address graduates of the Nicholas School of the Environment’s Master of Environmental Management, Master of Forestry, Duke Environmental Leadership Master of Environmental Leadership, International Master of Environmental Policy, and doctoral programs, at Wilson Recreational Center. The event is not open to the public. 

On Saturday, May 7 at 10 a.m., George Delagrammatikas, Ph.D., assistant chair and director of Master’s Studies for Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, will address graduates of the Pratt School of Engineering Master’s Programs (Artificial Intelligence for Product Innovation, Biomedical Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Financial Technology, Photonics & Optical Sciences, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, and University Program and Materials Science & Engineering) Class of 2021 and 2022, in Reynolds Industries Theater. The event is open to graduates, families and friends, and will be posted on Duke Engineering’s YouTube channel after the address.

On Saturday, May 7 at noon, Drew Hilton, Ph.D., professor of the practice and director of Innovation in Computing Education, will address graduates of the Pratt School of Engineering’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Master’s Programs Class of 2021 and 2022, in Reynolds Industries Theater. The event is open to graduates, families and friends, and will be posted on Duke Engineering’s YouTube channel after the address.

On Saturday, May 7 at 2 p.m., Luis Morales, M.E., executive director, Master of Engineering Management, will address graduates of the Pratt School of Engineering, Master of Engineering Management Campus Program Class of 2021 and 2022, in Reynolds Industries Theater. The event is open to graduates, families and friends, and will be posted on Duke Engineering’s YouTube channel days after the address.

On Saturday, May 7 at 5:30 p.m., Judge J. Michelle Childs MJS ’16 will address graduating Duke Law students as the distinguished speaker at their convocation in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Guests of graduating students are invited to attend and the event will be livestreamed and recorded for viewing on the Law School’s YouTube channel.

On Saturday, May 7, at 6:30 p.m., the 96th Baccalaureate of the Divinity School will take place in Duke University Chapel. Dean Edgardo Colón-Emeric will preside and Dr. Wylin Wilson, assistant professor of theological ethics, is the invited preacher for the service. The event is open to the Divinity School community and can be viewed live on YouTube.

On Sunday, May 8 at 3 p.m., Jerome P. Lynch, Ph.D., F.EMI, Vinik Dean of Engineering, will address graduates of the Pratt School of Engineering, bachelor of science in engineering Class of 2022, in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The event is open to graduates, families and friends, and will be livestreamed on Duke Engineering’s YouTube channel.

On Sunday, May 8 at 6 pm., nursing leader Ernest Grant will address graduates at the School of Nursing Hooding and Recognition Ceremony at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Degrees to be conferred

Duke will award degrees to about 1,712 undergraduates and 4,100 graduate and professional students who finished their course work in September or December 2021 or this spring.

Among undergraduates receiving their degrees Sunday, 352 are from North Carolina.

The estimated degree breakdowns for the graduates are as follows:

Undergraduate degrees:

  • Trinity College of Arts & Sciences -- B.A. 620; B.S. 803.
  • Pratt School of Engineering -- B.S.E. 289.
  • Nursing -- B.S.N. 155.

Graduate and professional degrees:

  • School of Nursing -- M.S.N. 221; D.N.P. 89.
  • Trinity College of Arts & Sciences -- B.A. 620; B.S. 803.
  • Pratt School of Engineering -- B.S.E. 289.
  • Nursing -- B.S.N. 155.
  • Duke Divinity School -- M.Div. 99; Th.M. 15; M.T.S. 20; M.A.C.P. 22; Th.D. 2; D.Min. 16.
  • Fuqua School of Business -- MBA 707; MSQM 358; M.M.S. – 212.
  • Graduate School -- M.A. 206; M.S. 307; M.F.A. 9; M.A.T. 20; Ph.D. 414.
  • School of Law -- J.D. 216; LL.M. 144; S.J.D. 2.
  • Nicholas School of the Environment -- M.E.M. 119; M.F. 12.
  • Pratt School of Engineering -- M.Eng.M. 99; M.Eng. 74.
  • Sanford School of Public Policy -- M.I.D.P. 21; M.P.P. 75.
  • School of Medicine -- M.D. 125; M.H.S. 1; M.H.S.-R 28; D.P.T. 79; MBS 47; MMCI 37; MSBS 51.