More than 5,000 degrees will be issued Sunday during the 2010 Syracuse University and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry commencement on Sunday. It will mark SU’s 156th and ESF’s 113th commencement.

Commencement will be held in the Carrier Dome beginning at 9:30 a.m. and is scheduled to last until noon. SU is planning on an attendance of anywhere between 14,000 and 18,000 people. Admission is free and open to the public, in large part because of the Dome’s large capacity, said Susan Germain, director of the Office of Special Events.

“We’re one of the few schools that doesn’t have tickets,” she said. “So you can seat as many people as you’d like, which is wonderful for SU students.”

The ceremony will feature speeches from Lawrence Bashe, president of the alumni association; SU Chancellor Nancy Cantor; ESF President Cornelius Murphy Jr.; Sarah DiGiulio, a Syracuse University Scholar; and Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Cantor selected Dimon from a list of more than 40 candidates for commencement speaker presented to her by the senior selection committee. Since Dimon was first announced as the speaker, students have continuously protested against him, saying that allowing a corporate banker to speak in a time of economic crisis is wrong. Others have said JPMorgan’s recent partnership with the university is off-putting.

Though the threat of a protest continues to hang overhead, Germain said the university isn’t taking any measures to combat such actions.

“Every year, no matter who we have (speaking), we have some people who are unhappy,” said Germain, who has been at SU for 14 years. “If you’re a Republican, you don’t like a Democrat. If you’re a New York City person, you don’t want this. If you’re in broadcast journalism, you don’t want someone who’s (favorable for the College of Visual and Performing Arts). So every year there is some dissension in the ranks. We’re not planning on any difficulty.”

Kate Pettitt Callahan, a senior class marshal and double major in nutrition and policy studies, said she thinks a protest is likely to happen, but she hopes such a measure would be done in a respectful and silent manner, keeping the senior class and audience in mind.

“I think that people have the right to voice their opinion about who was selected for whatever reason that is,” Callahan said. “But it is a big day where I know that my 80-year-old grandmother is taking the five-hour drive with my parents to come up, and I wouldn’t want a special ceremony like that to be ruined just because people want to get their point across when they clearly already have.”

As class marshals, Callahan and Timeka Williams will lead the seniors to the ceremony, carrying the university’s banner.

Callahan will be recognized onstage during commencement for her role as a marshal, as well as for being one of 12 University Scholars, the highest undergraduate academic honor bestowed at the university. DiGiulio will speak on behalf of the 12 scholars. Her speech will address the mark the Class of 2010 made on Syracuse, as well as offer words of encouragement to the class in the time of economic crisis, Callahan said.

The only degrees presented on Sunday will be master’s and doctoral degrees, as well as honorary degrees to “individuals of exceptional achievement,” according to the commencement website. Recipients include Dimon and George Allen Weiss, creator of the Say Yes to Education program, which covers the cost of tuition for students hoping to attend college. Only one of the six honorary degree recipients attended SU for their undergraduate degree.

The individual colleges will present undergraduate degrees at separate convocations Saturday at different times and in different locations across campus. The dean of each college is the chief participant in the convocation, and some colleges bring in their own speakers. Each graduating student’s name is read at the individual convocation rather than at the larger commencement ceremony.

Published on May 11, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Lorne: lefulton@syr.edu