UAlbany Ready to Celebrate Commencement 2023
By Mike Nolan
ALBANY, N.Y. (May 9, 2023) – The University at Albany is gearing up to host commencement events from May 11-14 that will celebrate the Class of 2023 — highlighted by a series of individual stage crossings and the University-wide outdoor undergraduate ceremony.
More than 4,700 students are set to be celebrated during Commencement 2023 festivities. All ceremonies will be live-streamed and recorded. You can also follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #UAlbanyGrad.
“Commencement marks the end of a very important chapter, but also the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of our graduates,” said President Havidán Rodríguez. “UAlbany’s Class of 2023 has shown incredible resiliency throughout their academic journeys and earned this moment to honor their success. We are excited to celebrate with them.”
Honoring New Graduates
The festivities begin on Thursday and Friday, when undergraduate students will be individually recognized throughout each day in small groups with their guests at school/college-based stage crossings in the Campus Center and Science Library on the Uptown Campus.
Graduates will cross one of three indoor stages in regalia in front of family, friends and faculty. This concept was brought back by popular demand last year after the success of the “Great Dane Graduation Experience,” which offered a similar experience for graduates of the Class of 2020 and 2021.
"The pandemic forced us to think creatively,” said UAlbany Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Carol Kim. “How could we offer a warm and personal experience to our graduates, while also ensuring everyone's safety? The great minds on our University Events team came up with the idea of a campus walk down memory lane with graduates' families or invited guests accompanying them to the stage. It's fun and intimate and has quickly become a Great Dane tradition."
Following the undergraduate stage crossings, UAlbany will host its University-wide torch reception on Friday from 7:30-9 p.m. at the Lecture Center Concourse on the Uptown Campus, overlooking the Main Fountain. Torch Award Professor Raymond Van Ness will be honored for his outstanding support of students.
University-Wide Ceremony
On Saturday, the University-wide undergraduate ceremony will be held, rain or shine, at the Entry Plaza lawn on the Uptown Campus from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Graduates will be recognized together with peers by school and college.
This year’s commencement speaker is actor and director DB Woodside ’91, best known for his television roles in hit series such as “24,” “Lucifer,” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” The Class of 2023 student speaker is Labika Baral, an Honors College student majoring in human biology and who has been admitted to the Albany Medical College Early Assurance MD Program for Fall 2024.
Dr. Jürgen Popp, a world-renowned spectroscopist and scientific director of the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, will receive an honorary degree, officially conferred by President Rodríguez.
Following the University-wide ceremony, a doctoral stage crossing and hooding celebration will take place in Campus Center from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday. PhD recipients will be individually recognized in front of family, friends and faculty to honor this significant accomplishment. The stage crossings for master’s degree and graduate certificate recipients will take place on Sunday in the Campus Center and Science Library.
UAlbany also is hosting several special recognition ceremonies this week, including the Lavender Celebration honoring the achievements of graduating LGBTQ+ students and their supporters on Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom, and an international celebration, hosted by the Center for International Education and Global Strategy, on Thursday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom.
By the Numbers
An estimated 3,015 undergraduates from the Class of 2023 are set to receive degrees, including recipients who completed their degrees last summer and fall as well as over the winter. Among the 2,092 students completing their degrees in May, some 30 percent are first-generation college graduates and 26 are veterans. The undergraduate degree recipients range in age from 18 to 59, with an average age of 23. Women make up 56 percent of the class. The graduates hail from 21 states, including New York, and 23 countries outside the United States and will receive degrees in 55 different majors.
Another 1,687 graduate students from the Class of 2023 are expected to receive master’s degrees, doctoral degrees and graduate certificates, including recipients who completed their degrees last summer and fall as well as over the winter. Of the 964 graduate students who finishing their programs in May, students come from 22 states and 29 nations outside the United States. The average age of the graduate degree recipients is 29, with the oldest student set to receive a master’s degree at age 68, and the youngest student receiving a master’s degree at age 21. Among them are 12 veterans.
View our 2023 Graduate Spotlights to learn more about some of the new Great Danes alumni.