COMMENCEMENT 2009.....SATURDAY, JUNE 13

The Fuller Seminary Commencement will be held Saturday, June 13, at 10:00 a.m. at Lake Avenue Church, 393 North Lake Avenue, in Pasadena. The service itself will last a little more than two hours. The auditorium will be open for admission beginning at 8:30 a.m. In order to ensure adequate preferred seating for the families of all graduates, admission will require a Family Early Admission Pass until 9:30 a.m., at which time admission will be open (though seats will be very, very limited). All graduates will receive an application for Family Early Admission Passes in the Commencement Information mailing in April (which will be available to be downloaded and printed here as well). There is no predetermined number of passes allocated per graduate. However, in order to ensure adequate and appropriate seating for the families of graduates, these passes will normally be available for family members only, and due to the number of participating graduates this year, a limit may have to be imposed. Family Early Admission Passes will be available only through graduating students who will be participating in Commencement, and will only guarantee seating until 9:30 a.m. After that time no pass will be required, and any remaining seats (which are expected to be very limited in number) will be available to anyone on a first-come, first-served basis.

Graduates must be in the designated student lineup room at Lake Avenue Church at 8:30 a.m. for robing and final instructions.

Childcare is available by reservation from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (See CHILDCARE, below). Parking will be available at or near the church at no charge.

REGIONAL CAMPUS EVENTS

Fuller's regional campuses will be holding their own Commencement events. Graduates and their guests are welcome to attend regional Commencement events as well as the all-seminary events in Pasadena. Please contact the regional campus office for further details on any of these events. (Note: all of the other information on this page refers to the all-seminary Commencement in Pasadena and related events.)

• Fuller Northwest Commencement: June 6
• Fuller Northern California Commencement: June 6
• Fuller California Coast Graduation Dinner: June 11
• Fuller Southwest Commencement: June 13
• Fuller Colorado Commencement: July 17

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Graduation announcements will be available for purchase at the Fuller Bookstore beginning in mid-April. Remember that announcements do not function only as Commencement invitations, but also simply as announcements of your actual or impending graduation. Bookstore hours are 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Saturday. If you are unable to get to the bookstore, but would like to purchase announcements, order forms will be avilable to download and print from this site in April.

BACCALAUREATE SERVICE.....JUNE 3

The 2009 Baccalaureate Service will be held on Wednesday, June 3 at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary of the First Congregational Church. Graduates will meet in Payton 101 on the Fuller campus promptly at 9:30 a.m. to form the processional. Academic regalia is worn for this occasion. A reception will follow in the Garth, hosted by the Alumni/ae Office.

CHILDCARE.....SATURDAY, JUNE 13

Childcare will be provided for children five years old or younger (born on or after June 14, 2003) on Commencement Day, Saturday, June 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Lake Avenue Church. Reservation forms for childcare will be avilable to download and print from this site in April. This service is only available to participating graduates and their families, not other guests. The number of children we can care for is limited, and reservations will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. We're pleased to be able to offer this service free of charge. Please note that it is imperative that the reservation process be followed fully and completely and in a timely manner, or we will not be able to care for your children.

DIPLOMAS

Diploma cases (not the diplomas themselves) will be presented to each graduate at the Commencement ceremony. Diplomas are mailed to graduates throughout the year, normally within about three months of the completion of all requirements for graduation.

FACULTY/GRADUATE EVENTS

No pre-Commencement event is planned  for School of Theology graduates this year. A post-Commencement event is being planned, and details will be communicated directly to graduates by the School of Theology Graduate Union.

The School of Intercultural Studies will hold a breakfast for doctoral graduates at the University Club at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 11, and the doctoral hooding service at 4:00 p.m. in Travis Auditorium on the Fuller campus, followed at 6:30 p.m. by the Graduation Banquet at Almansor Court (700 South Almansor St, Alhamba) for all School of Intercultural Studies faculty, students, their families, and invited guests. Contact the advising office (626-584-5260 or sis-advising@fuller.edu) for details, including costs and tickets.

A light reception and hooding service for graduates of the Center for Advanced Theological Studies will be held on Friday, June 12 at 5:00 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, adjacent to the Fuller campus. Contact the CATS office (626-584-5239 or cats-assistant@fuller.edu) for details.

A hooding service for all 2008-2009 doctoral graduates of the School of Psychology (both departments) will be held in Travis Auditorium at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 12. This will be followed by a dinner for all the faculty, graduates (master's and doctoral) of both departments, and their families and invited guests, at 7:00 p.m. at the Westin Hotel. Graduates should contact the SOP front desk (626-584-5500 or sop-frontdesk@fuller.edu) for further details.

A hooding ceremony for Doctor of Ministry graduates will be held on Friday, June 12, beginning at 3:00 p.m. in Payton 101. This ceremony will be followed by a light reception. Please contact the Doctor of Ministry office at dmin-fpcoord@fuller.edu or by phone at 626-584-5653 for further information.

The Korean Doctor of Ministry Program (School of Theology) has scheduled lunch at 11:30 a.m. at the University Club (adjacent to the Fuller campus), followed by a presentation of final project topics in the Ray Anderson Classroom on the Fuller campus, at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, June 12. A hooding service will be held in Payton 101 at 8:00 p.m. Contact Esther Cho at 626-584-5651 or kdmin@fuller.edu for more information.

The Hispanic Church Studies Program (School of Theology) will hold its graduation banquet at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, June 8 in Payton 101 on the Fuller campus. Graduating Hispanic students from all schools are invited. Contact the Hispanic Church Studies Office at 626-584-5586 for further information.

PHOTOGRAPHS.....FRIDAY, JUNE 12

Group pictures of the graduating class of each school and of all members of the 2008-2009 graduating class of the Seminary who are present will be taken on the day before Commencement on the Fuller campus at 9:00 a.m. This group photo session will last until about 11:00 a.m. You should plan on being present for the entire time. Academic regalia is worn for these photos. You may order your own copies of any of these photographs using an order form which will be avilable to download and print from this site in April. Order forms will also be available on campus when the photos are taken and on Commencement Day. The photographs will be mailed about six weeks after Commencement. Even if you do not think you will purchase photos, please be there so that you will be in the photos that others will purchase.

We are also pleased to be able to offer a special service again this year of individual photographs taken as each graduate crosses the stage at Commencement. Each graduate will receive free proofs and the opportunity to order copies directly from Chappell Studios shortly after Commencement.

In order to avoid disrupting the Commencement service, we regret that we cannot permit guests to approach the stage during the ceremony to take photographs.

REGALIA.....MAY 26 - JUNE 13

Rental caps, gowns and hoods are provided for Baccalaureate and Commencement at no cost. Only the rental regalia that we provide may be worn at Commencement or Baccalaureate.

No preliminary fitting or ordering is required. Regalia will be distributed to graduates in the Payton Hall lobby (by the switchboard) at the following times:

Regalia will also be available at the time of lineup on Commencement Day at Lake Avenue Church for late arrivals. All regalia will be collected immediately after the Commencement ceremony. All regalia must be returned at this time. We must pack and return it immediately.

REHEARSAL

There is no rehearsal for Commencement. Final instructions for the Commencement ceremony will be given beginning at 8:30 a.m. Commencement Day. It is imperative that graduates be in the designated student lineup room at Lake Avenue Church at 8:30 a.m. on Commencement Day for robing, lineup and final instructions.

QUESTIONS???

We hope we have answered all of your questions, but if there is anything else we can help you with, please feel free to contact anyone listed here for further assistance.

DIRECTORY

CALENDAR