2011 Commencement
The School of Architecture honored 48 undergraduates and 15 graduate students during its graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 22 on the front steps of Bond Hall.
The valedictorians were Larissa Esmilla of the undergraduate program, Clare Watson, Jennifer Griffin and John Griffin of the graduate degree program.
Many members of the class of 2011, which includes graduates from 24 states, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, El Salvador, Spain, Ukraine, Korea and China featured prominent national buildings on their traditional mortarboard designs, including the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Arc de Triomphe. A gallery of photographs from the ceremony can be found
here.
The School of Architecture’s Graduation speaker was Prof. Dennis Doordan. An excerpt of his speech is below:
Between celebrating accomplishments and contemplating the next chapter in your careers, today is also a good time to pause for a moment and to reflect on personal habits and inner strengths you have developed over the course of your time in Bond Hall. You have done more than acquire the skill sets and gain the disciplinary knowledge necessary to practice architecture. You have demonstrated the ability to work hard, to stay focused on a project over a long period, bring it to completion and meet deadlines. You have walked into a room full of people, presented your work to demanding audiences and defended the decisions you made to experts. Perhaps because this has been your routine here it is easy to take your ability to handle such challenges for granted. All of you will face moments in your lives and careers when the pressure is building, the deadline is looming and the critics are waiting. In those moments take a deep breath and remind yourself: I am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. I have been in this spot before; I handled it then and I can handle it now.
You will need to draw upon your strength in the years ahead.
It is no secret that these are difficult days economically. No one is using adjectives like robust or booming to describe the present state of the economy. But it is also obvious that there is work to be done and you are now amply prepared to do it. And only the willfully blind can fail to see that these are dark days for planet. Resource depletion, poorly conceived development, environmental pollution and the social, economic and political stresses these create are problems that can be avoided no longer. Today we understand that how we configure human settlements and construct buildings have profound impacts on creatures and places we once deemed remote and unconnected to our lives.
Architecture is a form of stewardship as well as an honorable profession. Architects bear an enormous responsibility as stewards of creation. How you conceive, construct and manage the built environment will shape the quality of life – all life on our interconnected planet - for generations to come. Here I want to remind you that architects are optimists by profession. To build is an act of hope and an affirmation of life. We can design a better world. You must design a better world.
Stewardship is a noble calling and again one for which you are now richly prepared.
Commencement Weekend was May 20-22, 2011. Below is the schedule of events that were held.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011
3:30pm - DRESS REHERSAL FOR SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE DIPLOMA CEREMONY
FRIDAY, MAY 20 , 2011
6:30pm - CLASS OF 2011 BBQ DINNER
Architecture House, Notre Dame Avenue.
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2011
1:30-3:30pm - SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE RECEPTION AND OPEN HOUSE
Bond Hall Gallery and Foyer.
4:40pm - ACADEMIC PROCESSION
Joyce Center, Purcell Pavilion.
5:00 - 6:30pm - COMMENCEMENT MASS
Joyce Center, Purcell Pavilion.
Overflow -North Dome (live video screens).
7:00 - 10:00pm - GRADUATION DINNER – MARIOTT, DOWNTOWN SOUTH BEND
Tickets must be purchased in advance. $46 per person, cash bar.
SUNDAY, MAY 22, 2011
6:00-9:00am - CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
North and South Dining Halls.
7:30am - NOTRE DAME STADIUM OPENED FOR GUEST SEATING
8:00am - DEGREE CANDIDATES ASSEMBLED FOR ACADEMIC PROCESSION FOR UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY
9:00am - ACADEMIC PROCESSION FOR UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY
9:30-11:30am - UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY AND CONFERRING OF BACHELOR DEGREES
11:30am-1:00pm - SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE CELEBRATION LUNCH
1:00pm - SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE CLASS PHOTOS
1:20pm - ASSEMBLED FOR SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE DIPLOMA CEREMONY PROCESSION
Bond Hall Foyer
1:30pm - SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE DIPLOMA CEREMONY PROCESSION
1:30-2:30pm - SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE DIPLOMA CEREMONY