Sunday’s commencement will be unique in its location, but its content and format will mirror those of previous ceremonies.
The University-wide ceremony, scheduled to take place Sunday morning, will be held at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Commencement has been held at Wallace Wade Stadium since 1984, but ongoing renovations to the stadium prevented its use this year. Despite the move off campus, the ceremony should not be vastly different from past years, said Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students.
“Approaching the ballpark, walking in, finding a place to sit—the whole entrance into the stadium will feel different,” Wasiolek said. “But I’m of the belief that once the actual ceremony starts and the students begin to process, it’s going to be a Duke commencement. It’s going to be our commencement regardless of whether it’s in Wallace Wade or the Bulls stadium.”
Most of the changes are logistical, said Terry Chambliss, director of special events and University ceremonies. For instance, instead of lining up on the practice field adjacent to Wallace Wade, students will line up on the American Tobacco Campus prior to procession. Parking and transportation will also be different from previous years. Shuttles to and from the ballpark will be provided, with stops located on both West Campus and East Campus.
But aside from a slightly earlier start time, the ceremony itself will remain unchanged, Chambliss explained.
“We’ll have all the same elements,” he said. “Student procession, faculty procession, the stage is the same one we’ve used, the chair setup is very similar—the difference will obviously be…the venue.”
Wasiolek noted that, for the majority of the students and their families, Sunday’s ceremony will be the first Duke commencement they have attended. As a result, students might not even notice the differences from previous ceremonies.
The change in venue also provides some advantages.
“We’re actually happy we’ll have a lot more seating for guests with mobility issues and more covered seating than we’ve ever had in the past,” Chambliss said.
He added that the ballpark, known as DBAP, is prepared to handle a turnout similar to years past, though the exact number tends to vary.
“Our numbers go up and down. I’m hoping it won’t be affected,” Chambliss said. “We have a wonderful speaker in Paul Farmer, and a lot of people will be interested in hearing him. So we’re expecting a good crowd.”
For convenience, some departments have chosen to host their diploma ceremonies downtown instead of at their traditional on-campus locations, cutting the transit time between ceremonies. The diploma ceremony and luncheon hosted by the political science department will be held on the American Tobacco Campus immediately after commencement.
“This is a one-time thing due to the graduation ceremony taking place at the Bulls Athletic Park,” Susan Emery, departmental business manager for political science, wrote in an email Wednesday. “Next year and the following years we will be back on Perkins Quad.”
Other departments that have moved their diploma ceremonies off Duke’s campus include English, which will be at the Durham Armory; statistical science, which will be at the 21c Museum Hotel; as well as neuroscience and computer science, both of which will be at the Durham Convention Center.
For graduating seniors, the move to DBAP is symbolic of the adjustments they have had to make given the recent construction on campus.
“Any time a group has to go through construction, it’s unfortunate,” Wasiolek said. “But I also know that our seniors are smart enough and care enough about this place to know that it’s all for improving the experience for our students in the future. And they’ve been part of making an investment in that future.”
Regardless of how this year’s ceremony goes, the University has no plans to make the venue switch permanent.
“We’ll move home once Wallace Wade is completed,” Chambliss said. “That would be the preference—to keep it on campus.”
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