College graduations return this weekend and next. What to know for Triangle schools.

Korie Dean
·8 min read

The Class of 2023 began their college years just before the COVID-19 pandemic set in, then navigated online courses before returning to campus.

Now they are about to become the newest graduates of colleges and universities around the Triangle, which will celebrate them with in-person celebrations and renowned speakers.

Beginning this weekend and continuing into the next, the schools will hold their annual spring commencement ceremonies.

Whether you’re supporting a graduate in your life, or you just want to know when traffic might be heavy surrounding the events, we’ve compiled information about the commencement ceremonies at UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, N.C. State University, N.C. Central University and more.

Here’s what to know about local college commencement festivities in 2023. Ceremonies are listed in order of the date they will occur.

NC State University commencement

N.C. State University will hold its commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 6, at 9 a.m. The ceremony will be held at PNC Arena in Raleigh.

Tickets are not required to attend the event, and students are not limited to a certain number of guests. The ceremony will also be livestreamed at go.ncsu.edu/WatchCommencement.

Doctoral candidates will walk across the stage at the commencement ceremony, while all other students will be recognized by standing with fellow members of their respective colleges.

N.C. State seniors Jay Patel, left, and Dev Sutariya get their photo taken by Niraj Lavani at the Memorial Belltower in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, April 29, 2023.
N.C. State seniors Jay Patel, left, and Dev Sutariya get their photo taken by Niraj Lavani at the Memorial Belltower in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, April 29, 2023.

Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and an N.C. State alumnus, will deliver the commencement address to graduates and guests. Kelsey O’Connor, who is graduating with a bachelor of social work and a minor in psychology, will also give remarks to her fellow graduates.

N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson will award honorary degrees at the ceremony to Raj Chetty, an economist at Harvard University, and Robert Santos, director of the U.S. Census Bureau.

More information about N.C. State’s commencement ceremony is available at commencement.ncsu.edu.

Individual college and department ceremonies will be held through the weekend. More information on those ceremonies can be found at commencement.ncsu.edu/college-and-department-ceremonies.

NC Central University commencement

N.C. Central University will hold commencement exercises on Saturday, May 6. The ceremony for undergraduate students will begin at 8 a.m., and the ceremony for graduate and professional students will begin at 2 p.m.

Both ceremonies will be held in McDougald-McLendon Arena. Due to limited seating at the arena, tickets are required for guests. Seating for guests is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Both ceremonies will be livestreamed on the university website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.

More information about the ceremonies, including ticketing and links to the livestream, is available at nccu.edu/141Commencement.

Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney and social justice advocate, will deliver the keynote address to graduates and guests.

North Carolina Central University graduates.
North Carolina Central University graduates.

St. Augustine’s University commencement

St. Augustine’s University will hold its commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 6, at 9 a.m. The ceremony will be held in Exhibit Hall C of the Raleigh Convention Center.

Each graduate will receive eight tickets for guests. Tickets are required for guests to enter the event.

The event will be livestreamed on the university’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, with links to each available on the commencement website.

Jeronica Goodwin, a St. Aug’s alumna and WakeMed Health’s senior vice president of human resources, will deliver the keynote commencement address.

More information about St. Aug’s commencement events, including links to the livestreams, are available at st-aug.edu/commencement.

William Peace University commencement

William Peace University will hold its commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 6, at 9:30 a.m. The ceremony will be held on the university’s main lawn.

Tickets are not required to attend commencement. The university’s commencement website says the ceremony will be livestreamed, with a link to come. More information about the livestream is available at peace.edu/student-life/commencement/commencement-day-faqs.

Donald Thompson, CEO and founder of The Diversity Movement, will deliver the commencement address.

Graduates will also be celebrated at a baccalaureate service on Friday, May 3, at 3:30 p.m. That ceremony will be held at Holy Trinity Anglican Church. Reservations are required.

Rev. Lisa Yebuah, lead pastor of the Southeast Raleigh Table, will address graduates at the baccalaureate service.

Additional information about both commencement events at the university is available at peace.edu/student-life/commencement.

Graduates Madison Tucker, left, and Julia Pemberton get into the fountain to celebrate after the William Peace University commencement on the university’s main lawn in Raleigh.
Graduates Madison Tucker, left, and Julia Pemberton get into the fountain to celebrate after the William Peace University commencement on the university’s main lawn in Raleigh.

Shaw University commencement

Shaw University will hold its commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 13, at 10 a.m. The ceremony will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center.

Tickets are not required to attend the event. The ceremony will be livestreamed on the university’s Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages.

Natalie Madeira Cofield, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who was previously head of the Office of Women’s Business Ownership at the U.S. Small Business Administration, will deliver the commencement address.

More information about Shaw University’s commencement, including links to each of the livestreams, is available shawu.edu/Commencement.

Meredith College commencement

Meredith College will hold two commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 13 — one at 8:30 a.m. and one at 11 a.m. The ceremonies will be held in the university’s courtyard area, with Johnson Hall as the backdrop.

Students should register for the event they wish to attend. Graduate students are also invited. Each graduate will receive tickets for guests. The ceremony will be livestreamed, according to the commencement website.

More information about the commencement ceremonies is available at meredith.edu/commencement.

UNC-Chapel Hill commencement

UNC-Chapel Hill will hold its commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 14, at 9 a.m. The ceremony will be held at Kenan Stadium.

Students are not required to register to attend the event, and tickets are not required for family or other attendees. The event will be livestreamed, with a link posted on the day of the ceremony at commencement.unc.edu. More information about the event is also available at that website.

Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of the best-selling memoir “Just Mercy,” will deliver the keynote commencement address to graduates and guests. Stevenson will receive an honorary doctor of letters degree from the university.

Five additional people will receive honorary degrees from the university at the ceremony:

  • Alexander Julian, a UNC alumnus and renowned fashion designer, will receive a doctor of arts. Julian is the first professional fashion designer to design college and professional sports uniforms, and he also redesigned the UNC graduation regalia in 2011 to return it to “true Carolina Blue.”

  • Mike McIntyre, a two-time UNC alumnus and former U.S. congressman representing North Carolina, will receive a doctor of laws. McIntyre represented the state’s 7th congressional district for 18 years, from 1997 to 2015.

  • Jonathan Reckford, a UNC alumnus and CEO of Habitat for Humanity International, will receive a doctor of laws.

  • Hilda Solis, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and former U.S. secretary of labor, will receive a doctor of laws.

  • Lucille Webb, a retired educator and administrator in the Wake County Public Schools System, will receive a doctor of humane letters. Webb is a founding member of Strengthening the Black Family, “a Raleigh-based nonprofit focused on improving the quality of life in uplifting the Wake County minority community.”

The university will also hold its doctoral hooding ceremony on Saturday, May 13, at 9 a.m. That event will be held at the Dean E. Smith Center. No tickets are required for guests at that ceremony.

More information about the doctoral hooding ceremony is available at gradschool.unc.edu/events/hooding.

Departmental and individual school commencement ceremonies will be held throughout the commencement weekend. The full schedule is available at commencement.unc.edu/commencement-ceremonies.

Students wave to their friends as they file onto the field at Kenan Memorial Stadium for UNC-Chapel Hill’s 2018 spring commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 28, 2018.
Students wave to their friends as they file onto the field at Kenan Memorial Stadium for UNC-Chapel Hill’s 2018 spring commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 28, 2018.

Duke University commencement

Duke University will celebrate graduates at its commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 14. Graduates, faculty and university leadership will begin their procession at 9 a.m., and the ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. The ceremony will be held at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Registration is not required for guests to attend, and there is no limit on the number of guests a student can bring. Seating for guests is first-come, first-serve, and the university asks that guests be seated no later than 8:30 a.m.

Graduating students are also invited to attend a baccalaureate service, an interfaith service with prayer, music and readings at Duke Chapel, on Friday, May 12, at 1 and 4 p.m. Registration is required for those events.

Individual schools and departments will host ceremonies and gatherings for graduates throughout the weekend. More information about those events is available at commencement.duke.edu/schedule-of-events/diploma-ceremonies-events.

Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA since 2014 and a Duke alumnus, will deliver the keynote address at the university-wide commencement ceremony. Silver was appointed to the university’s board of trustees and currently serves as vice chair.

Markus Fjortoft celebrates during Duke University’s commencement at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham Sunday, May 13, 2018.
Markus Fjortoft celebrates during Duke University’s commencement at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham Sunday, May 13, 2018.

Duke President Vincent Price will award four honorary degrees at the ceremony:

  • Branford Marsalis, a Grammy-winning musician who has lived in Durham for the past 20 years, will receive a doctor of arts degree.

  • Deborah Rutter, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., will receive a doctor of arts degree.

  • Susan Solomon, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is “widely recognized as a leader in the field of atmospheric science,” will receive a doctor of science degree.

  • Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, will receive a doctor of humane letters degree.

More information about Duke’s commencement events, including the main ceremony, is available at commencement.duke.edu.