Commencement
Congratulations to the Guilford College Class of 2025!
UPDATE (May 17 - 6:20 am): For the safety of those participating in Commencement this morning due to unexpected storms developing, the start of Commencement will be postponed until 10 am, a delay of one hour. The event will still be held outside on the Quad. Graduates will now start lining up at 8:45 am inside Alumni Gym (map), attached to Ragan-Brown Field House. Faculty and all processional participants will still gather inside Founders Hall. Please take great caution as you navigate around the campus, as the ground will be wet and may be slick.
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The Guilford community warmly invites you to join the celebration of Commencement in the College's 188th year Saturday, May 17, at 9 am. It will be held on the Guilford College Academic Quad or in Ragan-Brown Field House.
- Guilford will honor students who have earned bachelor’s or master’s degrees at Commencement.
- Featured speaker will be Cheryl L. Johnson, the 36th Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives
- Julia Spoor '25 will be the student speaker and David Grimsley '00 will represent the College Alumni.
- Guilford will award Mary de Rachewiltz the Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, and will present the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award to Lyons Gray.
- The College plans to live-stream the Commencement ceremony. A link will be available on this page.
- Baccalaureate will be at 11 am Friday, May 16, in Dana Auditorium, followed by a community-wide picnic.
- Commencement rehearsal will be held on the Academic Quad at 1:30 pm.
Read the 2025 Commencement Program here.
A complete listing of Candidates for Commencement 2025 is available here.
Watch the Commencement Livestream
The Guilford community warmly invites you to join the celebration of Commencement in the College’s 188th year on Saturday, May 17, at 10 a.m. Celebrate with us as we honor the achievements of the Class of 2025. Watch the livestream here.
Commencement Schedule
- 6 p.m. - Lavender Ceremony in Joseph M. Bryan Jr Auditorium
- 6:30 p.m. - BAGC pinning, Carnegie Room, Hege Academic Commons
- 4:30-5:30 p.m. - Senior Happy Hour, Founders Terrace
- 5:30 p.m. - Toast to the Light, Founders Terrace
- 11 a.m. - Baccalaureate Ceremony in Dana Auditorium
- 12 p.m. - Community Lunch in Founders Dining Hall (outdoor seating on the Quad) - Lunch sponsored by the Class of 1975 for students and families
- 1:30 p.m. - Graduation Rehearsal in the Quad (rain location: Ragan-Brown Field House)
Information for Families and Guests
In addition to regularly marked spaces, the entire section of parking on George Fox Drive between New Garden Road and Levi Coffin Drive will be reserved for persons with disabilities during Commencement.
The College will engage the services of a photographer, who will photograph each graduating senior individually as his or her diploma is presented. We provide this service to ensure this moment is captured, thus relieving parents and friends of any need for photographing. An email will be sent to the graduating senior the week after Commencement with proofs and information on how to order. You can also search the photo proofs at gradimages.com.
The College encourages all graduating students to share news of this milestone with their hometown newspaper(s) and websites. To make this easy for you, we've prepared a template that you may customize with details about your personal Guilford experience.
How to Write and Send Your News Release
- Save this news release template (.docx) to your computer.
- Personalize the release by replacing the bracketed information with details about your experience at Guilford.
- Identify the contact information for your local newspaper(s) and/or websites. Graduation announcements are usually directed to a general newsroom email address and not to specific reporters. To find that address, visit the paper's website, and look for a "Contact Us" page. The newsroom email address should be on that page. If not, search for the editor of the regional edition of the paper and send the release to them.
- Copy your news release directly into the body of an email (do not send your announcement as an attachment). Use the subject line Local Resident Graduates from Guilford College.
Note: Newsrooms are often inundated with emails, so we recommend that you keep your release short and to the point.
You will find our updated Accommodations for Visitors here.
Hotel accommodations for this event are available at the link below. Please click the link for your hotel of choice to book directly.
Should the weather forecast be such that holding Commencement outside is not possible, communication to the community will happen on the Thursday immediately prior to Saturday's ceremony. The rain location for Commencement is in Ragan Brown Field House. Each graduate will be given three tickets with the possibility for additional tickets pending the number distributed.