Penn Dental Medicine Commencement

*Penn Dental Medicine congratulates the Class of 2011. Following is information for graduating students and their families on this special day of celebration.*

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h3. School of Dental Medicine 133rd Commencement Ceremony

Penn Dental Medicine’s commencement ceremony will be held May 16 in Irvine Auditorium, 3401 Spruce Street, beginning at 1 p.m. Students are asked to be there by 12:30 p.m. for line-up and last-minute details. Caps and gowns are required and should have been ordered through the bookstore. Dr. Denis F. Kinane, Morton Amsterdam Dean, Professor of Pathology and Periodontics; Dr. Uri Hangorsky, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Dr. Joan Gluch, Associate Dean for Academic policies; and Dr. Bruce Shenker, Associate Dean for Research, will officiate the ceremony. Commencement will conclude between 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

*Commencement Speaker*
This year’s commencement speaker will be Stanley Bergman, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Henry Schein, Inc. Under Mr. Bergman’s leadership, Henry Schein has grown to be among the largest providers of health care products and services to office-based practitioners, with more than 14,000 employees and operations or affiliations in 25 countries.
Henry Schein also has a decades-long commitment to corporate social responsibility, which Mr. Bergman formalized with the creation of Henry Schein Cares and the Henry Schein Cares Foundation. Under his leadership, Henry Schein Cares has made significant contributions to, and in support of, oral health and oral health education around the world. Henry Schein Cares supports a wide range of global health activities designed to enhance access to care among underserved populations through wellness, treatment and prevention; strengthen disaster preparedness and response; and increase health care capacity, providing over $18 million of support to programs and initiatives across the country and around the world over the past decade.

*Tickets for the Penn Dental Medicine Commencement Ceremony*
All students will receive seven tickets for the Penn Dental Medicine commencement. Tickets and invitations will be available from the Office of Student Affairs. Graduating students will be notified when the tickets are available for pick-up in the Office of Student Affairs. Each guest must have a ticket to enter Irvine Auditorium. However, graduating students do not need a ticket.

*Seating for Guest with Disabilities*
Please contact the Office of Student Affairs at 215-898-4550 regarding disability seating for the Penn Dental Medicine Commencement.

*Penn Dental Medicine 133rd Commencement Reception*
The reception will be held at Penn Dental Medicine, in the Robert Schattner Center and adjoining gardens, 240 South 40th Street, immediately following the ceremony. All School clinics are closed for the day.

h3. University-Wide Commencement

The University-wide ceremony will be held, rain or shine, on Monday morning, May 16 in Franklin Field (33rd and South Streets). The gates to the field will open at 8:30 a.m. for guest seating. The ceremony will feature the conferral of degrees, the awarding of honorary degrees, greetings by University officials, and this year’s Commencement speaker, Denzel Washington, Academy Award-Winning & Tony Award-Winning Actor, and Director. *Tickets are not required for admission*.

Degree candidates, wearing caps and gowns, will assemble at Hamilton Village (next to Harrison House at 39th Street and Locust Walk). Penn Dental Medicine students should gather at the posted “Dental School” sign by 8:45 a.m. All candidates will walk down Locust Walk and enter the field at 9:30 a.m.

Students walking down Locust Walk with their classmates, dressed in caps and gowns, with Penn Dental Medicine’s huge toothbrush in tow is quite a spectacle and something students (and their families) will always remember. For more information, please go to the “University’s Commencement web site.”:http://www.upenn.edu/commencement/index.html

*In the Event of Inclement Weather*
Commencement will be held at Franklin Field rain or shine. Students are free to wear rain gear over their gowns since they will be seated on the field. Please be advised that the dye in the gown may stain clothing when wet. Guests should come prepared for all weather conditions, including rain and hot sun, since Franklin Field is an outdoor stadium. Only a limited amount of covered seating is available for families and is located in the top rows of the lower stands under the overhang. In the event of severe weather conditions, the procession across campus may be delayed or cancelled.

*In the Event of Extreme Weather*
In the event of dangerous weather conditions that threaten personal safety (such as a severe thunderstorm, lightning, or tornado) the ceremony may be delayed. Persistent dangerous conditions will cause the Commencement to be moved indoors to the Palestra, where seating will be limited to degree candidates only. These steps would be taken only in extreme circumstances.
Announcements about severe weather arrangements will be available at Hamilton Village, on the University’s emergency information line (215-898-MELT), the Commencement hotline (215-573-GRAD), the “Commencement website”:http://www.upenn.edu/commencement/ and radio station KYW (1060 AM).

*Seating for Guests with Disabilities*
Seating for guests who use wheelchairs, as well as those with limited physical mobility or medical conditions, will be available both on the field and in the lower stands. Please be aware that the stadium has bench seating. Due to space constraints, guests with disabilities who are seated on the field may be accompanied by one escort only.

Arrangements for this type of seating may be made beginning April 1, between the hours of 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. by calling 215-898-7369 (voice) or 215-898-7803 (TDD). There is no guarantee that an accommodation can be made if the request is received after Monday, May 2. Tickets for special seating will be mailed beginning May 1. Commencement information materials are available in an alternate format upon request.

Family members and friends who are unable to attend the University Commencement ceremony may view it live over the internet. “Learn more about the webcast here.”:http://www.penn.edu/commencement/webcast.html

h3. Parking Information & Campus Map

It is strongly recommended that you take public transportation, if possible, and allow plenty of extra time to get to the stadium.

The influx of guests to campus for graduation coupled with the regular morning rush hour traffic creates tremendous congestion in the area around the University on Commencement morning. Guests are urged to allow extra time to reach the campus. Parking on and near the campus is limited. For those who must drive to campus, parking facilities are available at the following University garages:
* 38th and Walnut Streets (enter on 38th Street)
* 40th and Walnut Streets (enter on Walnut Street)
* 34th and Chestnut Streets (enter on 34th Street; limited parking)
Find a campus map and directions to the garages “here.”:http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/map.php