2024 School of Art & Design Convocation LiveStream Link:
https://ensemble.illinois.edu/Watch/ArtandDesign2024
2024 Art & Design Convocation Speaker, Nora Gainer
Nora Gainer received her BALAS in the History of Art in 1992.
Nora Gainer Doherty is the second oldest of the five Gainer sisters – all graduates of University of Illinois. Currently the head of civic relations and partnerships at the Art Institute of Chicago, she credits the University of Illinois for her formative foundation that launched her career, albeit winding, in arts and culture. During her junior year she spent a semester in Siena, Italy and began her lifelong obsession with travel in general, and Italy in particular, where she lived for two years after graduation. Following an early career in the hotel industry that sent her traveling all over the world, she found her way back to her home city and through the doors of the Art Institute where she currently cultivates creative partnerships across Chicago and Illinois, reinforcing the museum’s role as an integral part of daily life for all Chicagoans.
“My mother always sought out beauty, in small ways and big ways—whether it was fresh flowers on a table or taking us to museums around Chicago. She believes everybody should have access to it, and this shaped my values. She’s also a firm believer that our only real obligation on earth is to ease the way of others. Beauty and service have always been my core road maps for life.” shares Nora. Nora and her husband Ferdia Doherty co-own Farm Bar Lakeview and Farm Bar Ravenswood in Chicago and are the proud parents of Bébhinn (15), Aonghus (13) and Maude (10).
2024 A&D Convocation Deadlines
Monday, January 10 Student cap and gown online ordering is activated (herff.ly/Illinois)
Friday, February 2 Updated student and family addresses due
Tuesday, April 9 Last Day for students to order regalia at early order discounted rate
Friday, April 12 A&D Convocation Ceremony Form due
Monday, April 15 A&D Convocation Tickets may be picked up-132 A&D
Monday, April 22 Reserved Convocation Tickets must be picked up
Thursday, April 25 Student regalia website no longer active after 10:59 CT
Sat., May 11, 9:30 a.m. University-wide Commencement ceremony, Memorial Stadium
Sunday, May 12 (12:00 p.m. sharp) Graduates arrive at Foreign Language Building, 707 S Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL
Sun., May 12, 1:00 p.m. A&D Convocation Ceremony, followed by reception
If your guests have any accommodation requirements, please contact Terry Dederich at dederich@illinois.edu. He can answer questions about wheelchair seating, easy access seating, and accessible parking.
If graduates need any special accommodations, please contact Audra Weinstein at audra@illinois.edu.
Some accommodation requests (such as American Sign Language Interpreters) received after this date will be given due diligence to be filled but may not be guaranteed.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions | 2024
- What is Convocation? How is it different from Commencement?
Commencement is the official University of Illinois academic ceremony at which the Chancellor presides, and the President confers degrees.
Convocation is the term describing individual departmental or school ceremonies. These smaller ceremonies are dubbed Convocation to avoid confusion with the university-wide Commencement ceremony. A&D’s Convocation ceremony is scheduled so as not to conflict with the Commencement ceremony; thus, you and your guests may attend both ceremonies.
- Do I have to graduate in spring 2024 in order to be eligible to participate in the A&D Convocation?
Not necessarily. PhD candidates need to have finished all graduation requirements (including the dissertation deposit for PhD students) to attend the A&D Convocation. However, EdM/MA/MFA degree candidates are eligible to attend the A&D Convocation ceremony, while they have a maximum of 8 hours of unfinished coursework left (and/or a thesis deposit). BFA and BA candidates may participate in the A&D Convocation if they are graduating in May, August or December 2024 or graduated December 2023.
- Does registration for graduation automatically register the student for the A&D Convocation, and vice versa?
No. The graduation process is separate from the Convocation ceremony. Each event has their own registration process.
- Why do we need tickets for the A&D Convocation ceremony?
Graduating students who are participating in the ceremony do not need tickets. However, your family and guests (including babies) do. Foellinger Auditorium, where Convocation will be held, requires tickets to all its events. However, tickets are free.
Five tickets are guaranteed if you pick them up by Monday, April 24 Additional tickets may be picked up on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Wednesday, April 26. A&D makes every effort to ensure that each student can get the tickets they need, and that no guest is turned away. But please pick up tickets during regular business hours; they will not be available after hours or on weekends.
- Both my family and I received the Convocation Ceremony Form. Who should complete it?
Either you or a family member may complete the Convocation Ceremony Form. We send a paper copy of the form to both the family and students so that everyone has the same information. We encourage students, however, to consult with their family about their plans and complete the form themselves. We would prefer that you use the online version, but either one is acceptable. Either way, the form is due on Friday, April 12, 2024.
- Why do we need to complete the Convocation Ceremony Form?
The School needs to know who is participating in the ceremony, to ensure that you will have a seat with your program, and to list you in the Convocation’s printed Program. Students who have not submitted a form may be omitted from the printed Program and will be seated out of order, space permitting. We do not wish to disappoint family and guests by omitting a student’s name from the Program. Graduates seated out of order may have to squeeze by their fellow students when their name is called. This detracts from everyone’s enjoyment of the ceremony.
- Do I have to RSVP for the reception after the A&D Convocation? Are tickets required?
You do not have to RSVP for the after-convocation reception, which will occur in the Link Gallery (which connects the A&D building and Krannert Art Museum) immediately after the ceremony; however, RSVPs are encouraged. The reception is a relatively unstructured event that allows students and their guests the opportunity to mingle with fellow students, faculty, and staff and view the BFA exhibits in Krannert Art Museum.
- What about graduation attire—when and where do I order it?
Academic regalia must be ordered through Herff Jones’ website. The early order discounted rate deadline is Tuesday, April 9 at 10:59 p.m. CT, and all regalia orders are due by Thursday, April 25. Please consult the Commencement Website for up-to-date deadlines and procedures (https://commencement.illinois.edu/may-commencement/graduates/academic-attire/).
- How do I get on stage?
Please arrive promptly at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 12 for procession instructions at the
Foreign Language Building, 707 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL. Enter from Mathews and look for directional signs/A&D faculty. From there, you will walk/process to Foellinger Auditorium.
Your name will be printed on a card and placed on your seat. Seating will be by program in alphabetical order.
- Accommodations
If your guests have any accommodation requirements, please contact Terry Dederich at dederich@illinois.edu. He can answer questions about wheelchair seating, easy access seating, and accessible parking.
If graduates need any special accommodations, please contact Audra Weinstein at audra@illinois.edu.
Some accommodation requests (such as American Sign Language Interpreters) received after this date will be given due diligence to be filled but may not be guaranteed.
Useful links
Commencement: http://commencement.illinois.edu/
Order regalia from Herff Jones: http://herff.ly/illinois