Students celebrating at Commencement

Commencement

Commencement 2023

The Commencement Ceremony provides a capstone to a weekend full of concerts, receptions, and other events that showcase and celebrate the achievements of the graduates and their time at Grinnell.

  • Backs of graduates seated together, one wearing white fairy wings

    Monday, May 22, 2023
    10 a.m. CDT (-5:00 UTC) 
    Central Campus

    The 2023 ceremony was streamed live for those unable to attend. Watch a recording of the complete ceremony here, or visit our 2023 Commencement playlist to view the Commencement address by Ham Serunjogi ’16, President Anne F. Harris’ Charge to the Graduates, and the honorary degree recipients’ acceptance remarks.

    You can find videos from past Commencement ceremonies on the Grinnell College YouTube channel.

The Ceremony

  • Seniors in full academic regalia applaud at 2022 Commencent ceremony

    Virtual

    Join Commencement Online

    We welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us online to celebrate Commencement. We stream each Commencement ceremony live. We post a full set of videos from the most recent ceremony on our YouTube channel.

    Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and join the conversation: #Grinnell2023 and #GoForthGrinnellian

  • Ham Serunjogi

    Speaker

    Ham Serunjogi ’16: Speaker at 2023 Commencement Ceremony

    Grinnell College was pleased to invite Ham Serunjogi ’16, the co-founder and CEO of Chipper Cash, to speak at the 2023 Commencement Ceremony on May 22. As CEO, Serunjogi heads Chipper Cash’s Executive Leadership Team and is responsible for leading the company’s overall direction and strategy.  

    Past Commencement Speakers

  • Redbuds on North Campus

    HONORARY DEGREES

    2023 Honorary Degree Recipients

    Grinnell College is honored to recognize exceptional individuals who have made significant contributions to their fields of expertise. During the ceremony, the College will bestow honorary degrees upon distinguished scholars in social studies, science, and the humanities.

    Learn more about our honorees
  • Post-commencement picnic

    Picnic

    2023 Commencement Picnic

    Monday, May 22, 2023
    Following the Commencement Ceremony  
    Cleveland Beach

    Following the Commencement ceremony, graduates and their guests are invited to join a picnic lunch. In the event of inclement weather, lunch will be served in the athletic center.

  • Speaker at podium in Herrick Chapel speaking to seniors and guests, laural leaf banners in the background

    Baccalaureate

    2023 Baccalaureate Ceremony

    Sunday, May 21, 2023
    9–11 a.m. CDT
    Herrick Chapel

    “Baccalaureate is a farewell, a leave-taking.” — Professor Katya Gibel Mevorach, 2017 Grinnell College Baccalaureate

    Baccalaureate is open to all graduates, families, and friends. The ceremony celebrates our seniors and their accomplishments as they prepare for the next part of their Grinnell journey.

     

  • Gale Observatory

    Open House

    Observatory Open House

    Sunday, May 21, 2023
    9:15 p.m. CDT
    Gale Observatory

    All are invited to an observatory open house hosted by Robert Cadmus, professor emeritus of physics. Informal tours will be provided. The observatory was opened in 1984 and is an especially valuable facility for a small liberal arts college. Designed by Woodburn and O’Neil of Des Moines, the building is a 38-by-55-foot structure rising 26 feet to the top of the dome.

    Learn More about the Gale Observatory

  • bouquet of red roses

    Gifts

    Gifts for Graduates

    Flowers, commemorative T-shirts, and graduation gifts are available to order online and pick up at the event.

    You can also find many Grinnell College gifts at the Pioneer Bookshop, Grinnell College’s bookstore.

    Order flowers and tees to pick up at Commencement on May 22, 2023.

Visitor Information

Grinnell College welcomes the participation of people of all abilities at Commencement Weekend. Please contact Conference Operations and Events if you have a disability that requires accommodation for participation in an event. 

Drop-Off Location
Those with difficulty walking can be dropped off near Herrick Chapel where a limited number of golf carts will be available to assist them.
Induction Hearing Loop/T-Coil
Central Campus is equipped with an induction hearing loop system, which enables individuals with hearing aids set to T-Coil to hear the program.
American Sign Language (ASL)
ASL interpretation is provided for the Exercises of Commencement. Contact Conference Operations and Events to arrange assigned seating with a clear view.
Large Print Programs
Contact Conference Operations and Events, 641-269-3178, at least two weeks before Commencement for large print versions of programs (includes weekend activities with programs as well as Commencement).
Accessible Parking, Ramps, and Routes
For information about accessible (handicap) parking, ramps, and routes through campus, see the Campus Accessibility Map.

Grinnell College will arrange for a photographer to take photos of all graduates at the ceremony. Proofs will be provided to the families of each graduate.

Saturday May 20

Brunch: 11 a.m.–noon, $15/guest

Dinner: 5–6 p.m., $18/guest

Sunday May 21

Jazz Brunch: 11 a.m.–1 p.m., $16/guest

Dinner: 5–6 p.m., $18/guest

Plan Your Visit

Coming in person? You may find the following information useful.
Graduate and guest take a selfie

Personal Planning

Grinnell College welcomes the participation of people with disabilities. Please make requests for accommodations to Conference Operations and Events; accessible parking and facilities are indicated on the campus map. 

Strand 3 Movie Theatre exterior with lights on at dusk

Local Facilities

Downtown Grinnell is relatively flat and conducive to walking, as well as close to campus.

Interstate sign for Exit 182

Travel

Grinnell College’s location in Central Iowa makes it an easy drive from any major city in the Midwest. Visitor parking is available on and around campus. Illegally parked cars will be ticketed.

Shuttles will be available from local hotels.

See campus map and directions

Traditions

  • Grinnelll College professors in academic regalia

    Academic Regalia

    The custom of wearing a distinctive dress for academic ceremonies dates to the Middle Ages. Academic dress worn at commencements and other college and university ceremonial occasions lends dignity and color and reveals academic achievements through the style of gowns and hoods, and their varying colors.

    Based on the costumes worn at universities in the 14th and 15th centuries — especially at Oxford and Cambridge in England — today’s academic dress is essentially the same as that standardized in the United States by the Intercollegiate Code adopted in 1895. It includes the familiar square mortarboard cap with a tassel that may be black, gold, or an appropriate color, such as pink for a degree in music.

    Read more about academic regalia.

  • grotesque carved into stone columns

    Grinnell Traditions

    With more than 175 years of tradition, Grinnell has a legacy worthy of its past, future, and current community. From its abolitionist roots to the incubation of the Social Gospel movement, Grinnell has a deeply meaningful history and a legacy of activism.

    Learn about the College’s history

    Meet a few of our notable alumni

    Sing along with the Grinnell Songbook

  • Iowa College Bell in the foreground, with an audience at the commencement stage behind it

    Iowa College Bell

    The bell rung at many Grinnell College ceremonies is the original Iowa College bell. It rang out in the first and second locations of Iowa College in Davenport. According to the late Joseph Wall ’41, professor emeritus of history, when Iowa College was relocated to Grinnell, the bell was still hanging in the building that was the second home of Iowa College.

    The June 1932 issue of Grinnell and You tells the story of Dr. Harry Downer, class of 1882 — who worked for 18 years to procure the original bell for the College — including how he and his “clans … made a raid on the schoolhouse in the dead of a dark and stormy night, and rescued the bell, so long held in captivity.”

    Learn more about the Iowa College Bell

  • Iowa Band cane

    The Iowa Band Cane

    Carried by the College Marshal in the academic procession, the Iowa Band Cane has a silver head and a silver scroll attached a few inches below the head. The cane honors the Iowa Band, 11 Congregational ministers, all 1843 graduates of Andover Theological Seminary, who came to Iowa with a special purpose: “Each to found a church and all a college.”

    The ministers saw the latter part of their intention fulfilled with the founding of Iowa College (now Grinnell) in June 1846. The members of the Iowa Band were: Ephraim Adams, Harvey Adams, Ebenezer Alden Jr., James Jeremiah Hill, Horace Hutchinson, Daniel Lane, Eratus Ripley, Alden Burrill Robbins, Williams Salter, Benjamin Adams Spaulding, and Edwin Bela Turner.

    Benjamin Spaulding originally owned the cane, which was presented to him as a gift in 1864 by Dr. James Taylor of Ottumwa, Iowa. Spaulding had the idea that the eldest member of the Band should keep the cane until he died, and it would then pass to the next eldest member, and so on. When the cane was given to Spaulding, six of the original members survived. Their names (Spaulding, Lane, H. Adams, E. Adams, Robbins, and Salter) are inscribed on the cane. When Salter died in 1910, the cane was given to the College. The cane used today is a recreation of the original Iowa Band Cane.

Contact Us

For questions or to request an accommodation, please email Commencement or call 641-269-3178.

For media inquiries, please contact Mattia Wells, senior content strategist—media relations.

Department Information

Phone
641-269-3178

Joe Rosenfield Center, Suite 206
1115 8th Ave.
Grinnell, IA 50112
United States

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