Guest Info for Graduation Day

Graduates are permitted to invite up to 10 guests each. Tickets are no longer required. To help ensure seating is available to all attendees, please limit guests to no more than ten. If you have any questions, please email the Registrar’s Office at registrar@ohiodominican.edu.

Parking for Baccalaureate and Commencement will be available in the GOLD Parking Lot as well as along Panther Parkway. Please follow all directional signage as well as the direction of ODU Public Safety and Columbus Division of Police officers.

The Gold Lot is accessed from the light at Sunbury Rd and St. Dominic way, and is on the West side of Sunbury Rd.

• Get Google Map directions to the Gold Lot
  
   
• View the campus map to see where buildings and appropriate parking is located.
• View driving directions to Ohio Dominican. 

Baccalaureate will take place at 9 a.m. in Christ the King Chapel, which on the first floor of Sansbury Hall. Advance registration and ticket reservation are not required for Baccalaureate attendance. Food and beverages are not permitted in the Chapel.

Mass includes the traditional Baccalaureate sermon and may include other ceremonies. All graduates are invited to this Mass regardless of religious background. Your presence and participation are welcome and encouraged!

Although communion is reserved to Catholics in good standing, participation in the Scripture readings, prayers, hymns, and intercessions is considered appropriate and is encouraged.

Graduates may wear their robes to Baccalaureate.

• Date: Saturday, May 4, 2024
• Time: 11 a.m.
• Location: ODU Oval

Guests are invited to take their seat on the Oval in front of Erskine Hall starting at 10:15 a.m. Seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Commencement will begin promptly at 11 a.m. To ensure that there is adequate seating for all participants and guests, we ask that you please NOT move chairs. Some reserved seating will be marked off for graduates, faculty and other guests.

If you or a guest will need access to handicapped seating, please contact studentaffairs@ohiodominican.edu. Please feel free to ask a volunteer for directions or if you have any questions.

Commencement will take place outdoors on the Oval rain or shine. Please dress and prepare accordingly. To ensure that you do not block the view of others in the event of inclement weather, umbrellas will not be permitted on the Oval. Instead, the university will provide plastic rain ponchos should the need arise. Erskine Hall will serve as a shelter in the event of severe weather.

You will be permitted to bring bottled water and light snacks to the ceremony. Bottled water will be available to attendees free of charge.

Restrooms are available in all campus buildings surrounding the ceremony site, including the Griffin Student Center, Sansbury Hall, Battelle Hall and Erskine Hall. Handicap restrooms are available on the first floor of Battelle Hall. A map of campus is available here.

Please keep in mind the majority of seating will be on grass, so we encourage you not to wear shoes that have high heels that could potentially become caught or sink into the grass. We recommend that you wear flat-bottomed shoes to mitigate any tripping hazard.

To help ensure that all attendees are able to enjoy the ceremony without having their view obstructed, please remain in your seat at all times and do not approach the stage to take photos. A professional photographer has been hired and you will be provided photos to consider purchasing following the event. You are welcome to take photos from your seat.

A livestream of Baccalaureate and Commencement will be available at ohiodominican.edu/Livestream.

If you’re looking for any ODU alumni gear, please feel free to visit the campus store, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the day of Commencement.

Casa de la Pantera in the Griffin Student Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the day of Commencement.