Guide to RI commencements: When are college graduations and who is speaking?
It's college graduation season in Rhode Island, and that means plenty of famous faces will be making their way to the Ocean State to receive honorary degrees.
Of course, it also means the area around each of these colleges will be busy on commencement weekend.
To help you plan — and to satisfy your curiousity — we offer this handy guide to when and where each graduation is being held, as well as who will be speaking and receiving honorary degrees.
Johnson & Wales University
10 a.m. for graduate degrees, 2 p.m. undergraduate degrees Saturday, May 6, Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence
Speakers: James R. Langevin, former Congressman, for graduates; Jodi L. Berg, author and former chief executive officer of Vitamix, for undergraduates.
RI's most famous alumni: 25 famous alumni from RI colleges and universities. Emma Watson is just the start.
New England Institute of Technology
11 a.m. Sunday, May 7, at the Amica Mutual Pavilion,Providence
Speaker: Marlee Matlin, Academy Award-winning actress, activist and author.
Rhode Island College
10 a.m. Saturday, May 13, Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence
Speaker: Elizabeth Burke Bryant, former executive director of Rhode Island Kids Count.
University of Rhode Island
10 a.m. Saturday, May 20, at the Quad, URI Campus, Kingston
Speakers: Terry Tempest Williams, naturalist, writer: Mazan Taman, URI student.
Roger Williams University
9 a.m. Friday, May 19, Main Athletic Field, Bristol campus
Speakers: Joyce and Bill Cummings, real estate entrepreneurs and founders of the Cummings Foundation.
Bryant University
10 a.m. Saturday, May 20, main commencement tent, Bryant University, Smithfield
Speaker: Governor Dan McKee.
Salve Regina University
4 p.m. Saturday, May 20, for baccalaureate Mass, Mercy Center Chapel
10 a.m. Sunday, May 21, for commencement
Commencement speaker: Dr. Azar Nafisi, acclaimed Iranian-American author, scholar and human rights advocate
Honorary degree recipients: Dr. M. Therese Antone, former chancellor at Salve Regina; four-star Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command.
Providence College
11 a.m. Sunday, May 21, Amica Mutual Pavilion
Speaker: Hill Harper, author, actor.
Best restaurants near Brown University: From fast-casual to dining in, a guide to where to eat on Thayer Street
Brown University
1:15 p.m., Sunday, May 28, College Green, Brown University.
Speakers: Kailiang Fu, Margherita Micaletti-Hinojal, 2023 Brown graduates.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI college graduations: Commencement ceremony dates, times and speakers
