Media information for winter commencement

Here are details about the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s mid-year commencement ceremonies on Sunday, Dec. 18 at the Kohl Center:

• Credentials for reporters and photographers covering the ceremonies this Sunday, Dec. 18, will be available inside the Kohl Center media entrance on Frances Street one hour before each of the ceremonies, which will be held at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
• The credentials allow reporters and photographers to move around the floor of the arena, but no filming or photography is allowed on the stage, with the exception of the studio that takes the official graduation photos.
• A mult box will be available for broadcast recording. It will be located at the electricians’ table to the right of the stage.
• Media parking will be available in Lot 91 behind the Madison School District Administration Building, with entry from Bedford Street only. Parking permits will not be required for media vehicles.
• Delivering the charge to the graduates at each of the ceremonies will be Jake Wood, a 2005 UW–Madison graduate and a former offensive lineman on the Badger football team. Wood, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is president and co-founder of Team Rubicon, a nonprofit service organization that provides military veterans with an opportunity to use their skills in disaster zones such as in Haiti and Joplin, Mo. He is a strong advocate for veterans and he speaks around the country about the issues they face when they return home.
• The ceremonies will be streamed live for the benefit of friends and relatives who are unable to attend. Windows Media Player and a broadband connection are required in order to view them. The link to the streaming will be on the university’s main Web site at http://www.wisc.edu. The stream will not be available until the beginning of each ceremony.

Each of the commencement ceremonies will be less than two hours in length. Here is more detail about the ceremonies

• The following degrees will be conferred at the 10 a.m. ceremony: doctor of philosophy; doctor of musical arts; doctor of juridical science; master of fine arts; professional degrees (juris doctor; master of laws, master of laws-legal institutions; and master of public health); and all master’s degrees, as well as bachelor’s degrees from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the schools of education, human ecology, and nursing.
• The 2:30 p.m. ceremony will include bachelor’s degrees from the School of Business, the College of Engineering, and the College of Letters and Science (including journalism, music and social work).
• It is estimated that approximately 1,100 students will participate in this Sunday’s ceremonies. The exact number of graduates will not be determined until after winter break in late January.
• Information about commencement is available here.