Students celebrated at the end of their December 2024 commencement ceremony in Hilton Coliseum. Archive photo by Christopher Gannon.
The university community will celebrate spring graduates with commencement and college ceremonies May 15-17. An estimated 4,770 students are expected to complete degrees this semester. That includes an estimated 3,955 undergraduate students, 528 students earning a master's degree, 138 students earning a Ph.D. and 149 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine candidates.
They'll be honored during five commencement ceremonies over three days:
- Graduate College, May 15 (7 p.m., Hilton Coliseum)
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, May 16 (1 p.m., Stephens Auditorium)
- Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Business, May 17 (9 a.m., Hilton Coliseum)
- Colleges of Design, Engineering, May 17 (2 p.m., Hilton Coliseum)
- Colleges of Human Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences, May 17 (7 p.m., Hilton Coliseum)
Iowa State is implementing additional security measures, including walk-through scanners and a clear-bag policy, for all commencement ceremonies. Guests are encouraged to arrive early and use the north, south and lower west entrances of Hilton and the north and southwest entrances at Stephens. The university also offers a livestream for each ceremony.
Honorary degrees, speakers
Larry Buss and John "J.R." Robinson will receive honorary degrees this weekend. Alumnus Buss, who earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering, is a leader in Iowa agriculture for his innovative approaches to farming. He also is recognized for flood mitigation efforts along the Missouri River and his work as chief of hydrologic engineering for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Buss will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree at the Saturday morning ceremony.
Iowa native Robinson is a globally recognized drummer who's been instrumental in more than 50 Grammy Award-winning records, contributed to more than 30 No. 1 hit records and was recognized among Rolling Stone's "Top 100 Drummers of All Time." Robinson will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the Saturday evening ceremony.
Featured speakers for the five commencement ceremonies are:
- Distinguished Professor of agronomy Patrick Schnable will speak at the Graduate College ceremony. Schnable directs the Plant Sciences Institute that fosters collaborations between plant scientists, engineers and data scientists. He also co-leads the Genomes to Fields Initiative.
- Veterinarian Karen Shaw Becker will speak at the College of Veterinary Medicine ceremony. Dr. Becker is a New York Times best-selling author and animal advocate. As the world's most followed veterinarian on Facebook, she provides practical health information for pet owners.
- Entrepreneur Roger Underwood will speak at the morning undergraduate ceremony. He cofounded Becker Underwood in 1982 to develop a specialty colorant to mark herbicide application, resulting in more efficient farming practices. Underwood earned a degree in agricultural business from Iowa State.
- Retired global business executive Thomas Bluth will speak at the afternoon undergraduate ceremony. Bluth earned an electrical engineering degree with honors from Iowa State. For 13 years of his career, he served as senior vice president and corporate officer for Caterpillar.
- Distinguished Alumnus Thomas Smith will speak at the evening undergraduate ceremony. Smith's passion for innovation in geoscience began early in his career. He and his wife, Evonne, founded Seismic MicroTechnology, which developed one of the first PC-based software platforms that became the world's leading PC geoscience application.
College celebrations
The six undergraduate colleges also will honor graduating students at their own convocations and receptions on Friday and on Saturday morning. Follow the links to livestream websites or reception details.
- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, May 16 (9 a.m., Hilton Coliseum)
- College of Human Sciences, May 16 (1 p.m., Hilton Coliseum)
- Ivy College of Business, May 16 (4 p.m., Hilton Coliseum)
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, May 16, 7 p.m., Hilton Coliseum)
- College of Design, May 17 (9 a.m., Stephens Auditorium)
- College of Engineering, locations and start times vary by department
Parking information
Parking is available between Hilton Coliseum and Jack Trice Stadium and in the lots north of Hilton and the Scheman Building. Additional parking is available at Jack Trice Stadium and the Maple Willow Larch residence complex. Handicap parking is available in lot C2, directly south of Hilton. Parking map
