Commencement Ceremonies Set for May 9 and 10 at Emporia State

by Gwendolynne Larson

Emporia, KS (04/30/2025) — Nearly 800 Emporia State University students are candidates for degrees during spring commencement ceremonies at White Auditorium on May 9 and 10.

Graduate ceremonies begin at 6 p.m. Friday, May 9.

Undergraduates will receive their degrees at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 10.

White Auditorium is at 111 E. Sixth Ave. in downtown Emporia.

John Dicus, a member of the Kansas Board of Regents, will give remarks during both ceremonies. William Jensen, ESU's 2024 Roe R. Cross Professor, will speak at the undergraduate ceremony.

Doors of the auditorium open at 4:30 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday.

For those with accessibility concerns, arriving early is recommended. The best entrance to the building for accessibility is the east end of the north doors facing Sixth Avenue. Although not a designated drop-off spot, the easiest place to help passengers out is on Market Street, just south of Sixth Avenue.

For those without their own wheelchair or transport chair, White Auditorium has one wheelchair and one transport chair available. ESU staff at graduation will assist individuals needing to use these to enter and exit the auditorium. The auditorium's wheelchair and transport chair are only to assist individuals with mobility concerns enter and exit the building. They are not available as seating for the graduation ceremony.

Accessible seating is available on the floor behind the graduates and on the second-floor concourse. An elevator to the second floor is available, as is a wheelchair lift from there to the concourse with someone available to assist with using it.

A seating chart indicating accessible seating areas can be downloaded at https://www.emporia.edu/documents/2134/Graduation_Seating.pdf.

Please contact ESU Student Accessibility and Support Services during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, to make accommodation requests 48 hours in advance. You can reach SASS by phone at 620.341.5222 or email at sass@emporia.edu.

For those unable to attend, all ceremonies will be streamed on the Internet live. The link for the live streams as well as other information can be found online at www.emporia.edu/about-emporia-state-university/commencement/.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Emporia State will not release the lists of undergraduate and graduate degrees until transcripts have been verified as having met all requirements for graduation. For May graduates, this will not be available until mid-June.