SAVE THE DATE: May 16, 2008, 2:00-4:00 pm - School of Law Graduation

Page updated on: April 30, 2008.

This year's graduation ceremony will be held on Friday, May 16, at the Nob Hill Masonic Center, 1111 California Street, San Francisco. Students must arrive by 1:00 pm to check-in, line-up and make sure their graduation regalia are on properly. Check-in, regalia and line-up will take place in the Exhibit Hall, which is one floor below the Auditorium. Family and friends may not wait with you while you check-in and line-up and may not accompany you on stage. Family and friends will be permitted into the auditorium at 1:30 pm. Guests who have notified us they will need accommodated seating (please see Special Accommodations section below) will be permitted to enter through a separate entrance and encouraged to take their seats between 1:00 and 1:30 pm. The ceremony will begin promptly at 2:00 pm. Please stay seated during the entire ceremony unless instructed to do otherwise. The venue states that food and drinks are prohibited inside the auditorium, and violators will be removed. Alcohol will be served during the reception and may only be consumed in the reception area.
The School of Law is extremely pleased to announce that Hon. Lee Baxter, a 1974 graduate of GGU School of Law, will serve as Commencement speaker at the School of Law Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 16, 2008. Hon. Baxter worked in private practice before serving as a San Francisco Superior Court Commissioner, Municipal Court Judge, and Superior Court judge--a position she held from 1992 until retiring from the bench in 1999.

Judge Baxter's leadership roles in the legal community have included serving as president of the San Francisco Lawyers Club Inns of Court, as president of the Queens Bench, on the Board of California Women Lawyers and the Lawyer's Club of San Francisco, and as chair of the San Francisco Family Violence Council. She established the Baxter Fellowship in Litigation at GGU, which is given each year to a graduating student with a deep commitment to litigation. Baxter is a trustee of Golden Gate University The Graduation Committee is pleased to announce that William Wesley and Ruth Astle have been selected to deliver the JD and Graduate Law student speeches at the graduation ceremony. We know that this is a big day for students, and we do not want to discourage family and friends from attending. However, there are facility and catering limitations. Thus, each graduating student will be given 10 tickets at Grad Fair and permitted to invite 10 guests to the ceremony. If you choose to bring more than 10 guests, you must purchase additional tickets from Law Student Services (room 3314) at $15 each by May 9, 2008. You may pay with check payable to "Golden Gate University Law" and write "Commencement Tickets 2008" on the memo line. We encourage you to ask your friends if you may have any tickets they are not using before buying tickets from us. Also, if you have any tickets you will not be using, please drop by Law Student Services right away to donate them, so that we may hand them out for free to your classmates who need extra tickets. There will be a limit on how many extra tickets will be given out. Please contact Cortney Munna at cmunna@ggu.edu or 442-6615 with any questions about tickets. If you are attending any event listed above, and need accommodations for you or your guests, such as wheelchair space or extra time to get to their seats, please contact Cortney Munna at cmunna@ggu.edu or 415-442-6615. We have requested certain seating arrangements to meet the needs of the guests. If you have not yet made these requests for your guests please contact Cortney as soon as possible and she will try to provide appropriate accommodations. If your guests arrive the day of the event without prior arrangements, we cannot guarantee accommodations. The graduation ceremony usually lasts two hours, and immediately followed by a light reception in the Exhibit Hall. All of your ticketed guests are welcome to celebrate your accomplishments at this reception. Please notify your guests that the reception will not begin until the graduation ceremony is over and all the graduates have left the auditorium in the formal recessional. Refreshments will not be served until then. JD students who are graduating with Highest Honors or Honors will receive honor cords to wear during the graduation ceremony. The Law School's Highest Honors and Honors policy for JD graduates is as follows: based on cumulative GPAs as of the fall 2007 semester, Highest Honors will go to those students who were in the top 5% of their class. Honors will go to the students who were in the top 10% of their class. Highest Honors will receive blue/white cords. Honors will receive gold cords. Jesse Carter Society members will receive gold cords. Eligible students will receive their honor cords when they check-in at the graduation ceremony. All students must arrive at the Nob Hill Masonic Center promptly at 1:00 pm. Check-in is in the Exhibit Hall. If you come through the parking garage, take the elevator from the garage to floor "EX". You will see the Exhibit Hall when the elevator doors open. If you come through the main entranceway of the Masonic, you may either take the elevators on the far left corner to floor "EX", or you may take the stairs down one flight to the Exhibit Hall. The stairs are located in the back left corner of the lobby. If you arrive with guests at the check-in area, they will be asked to go to the auditorium level to wait to be seated. When you arrive, you will be instructed to check-in at a particular table depending on your last name and degree. You will receive a colored card with a name label on it. Beneath the label, you are to write the phonetic spelling of your name to assist the name reader. Please hold on to this card until you hand it over to the name reader during the graduation ceremony. (If you have a particularly difficult name to pronounce, you may receive a call from Dean Sampat (JD students) or John Pluebell (LLM/SJD students) in advance of graduation asking you to confirm the proper pronunciation of your name. You are free to contact them directly at nsampat@ggu.edu or jpluebell@ggu.edu. On the back of the name card is information from the photographer, which is discussed later in this newsletter. After you have checked-in, the staff will direct you to a robing area to put on your regalia. If you have not received your pre-ordered regalia prior to graduation day, you must contact the bookstore immediately. Please put on your regalia and be all ready to go. Line up for the processional begins at 1:30 pm sharp. After check-in, you will be directed to the robing area. Staff will be available to help you with your regalia. Please bring safety pins and bobby pins to secure your cap and gown as necessary. Tassels should remain on the left since you already have received your undergraduate degree. It is best to have your regalia ironed and ready to go when you arrive. Please wear sensible shoes as you will be walking up and down stairs. YOU MUST WEAR THE CAP AND GOWN IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GRADUATION CEREMONY. There is no place to put your personal belongings in the Exhibit Hall. Please bring to the check-in area only what you intend to wear as you walk across the stage, and have your family and friends hold on to any other personal belongings. The staff is not responsible for any lost or left behind items. The processional will form at 1:30 pm. JD, LLM and SJD graduates will line up in separate lines according to degree and program. Within each degree, the students will be lined up alphabetically by using the number labels on their cards. Students are to follow the directions of the marshals. The marshals will direct you into your lines, take you up the stairs and seat you. When it is your turn to receive your degree, the marshals will escort you up to the platform. You then will walk up the stairs, hand your card to the name reader, walk across the stage, shake hands with the faculty standing on stage, receive your scroll, and walk off the stage and down the stairs on the opposite side of the podium. When you are off the platform, the marshals will again direct you back to your seat. Please show respect for your classmates who receive their diplomas after you by remaining quiet and orderly as you leave the stage and are guided back to your seat. You must return to your seat until the recessional. At the end of the ceremony, the marshals will direct and lead you out of the auditorium and down to the Exhibit Hall, where you can take pictures/video, return your regalia and enjoy the reception. We have hired Bob Knight Photography and DVD Graduation to take professional pictures and video of the ceremony. Guests must remain in their seats and maintain the safety and dignity of this very important event.

Bob Knight Photography will take your photograph as you walk across the stage. On the back of the name card that you receive at check-in, you can indicate your mailing address or e-mail address. Bob Knight Photography will mail or e-mail you a proof of your picture. If you like the photo, you may purchase it online.

DVD Graduation will record the entire graduation ceremony.

The video will include:

• Opening procession
• Commencement speakers
• Presentation of diplomas (Close-up of each graduate)

Please visit the DVD Graduation website for more information. You can order a DVD of graduation from the DVD Graduation table that will be at the reception or click here. Regalia return will take place in the Exhibit Hall during the reception. You MUST return your gown on day of the ceremony, or you will be charged the cost of the gown, which is approximately $500. -From the East Bay: Cross the Bay Bridge on 80 West. Take the 9th Street/Civic Center exit. Turn right onto 9th Street. Stay in the right two lanes. Cross Market Street and continue onto Larkin Street. Turn right on California Street and continue uphill to the Nob Hill Masonic Center, on the right side just past Jones Street.

-From the Marin area: Take 101 South across the Golden Gate Bridge. Take the Downtown/Lombard exit. Drive 12 blocks on Lombard. Turn right on Gough Street and go 11 more blocks to California Street. Turn left and continue to the Nob Hill Masonic Center, on the right side just past Jones Street.

-From the South Bay: Go north on 101. Take the 9th Street/Civic Center exit and turn left on 9th Street. Stay in the right two lanes. Cross Market Street and continue onto Larkin Street. Turn right on California Street and continue uphill to the Nob Hill Masonic Center, on the right side just past Jones Street. Commencement is taking place on a Friday afternoon, and parking will be limited. Guests are strongly encouraged to use public transportation, taxis, hotel shuttles, cable car, or even walk to the ceremony. Generally, the walk to the Masonic is uphill, but leaving the Masonic is a rather pleasant downhill walk. The Masonic does not guarantee parking to the graduates or guests. Alternate garages are available in the area, however they do not offer discounted rates for attendees of the Nob Hill Masonic Center events. They are:
-Grace Cathedral: Taylor Street between California and Sacramento
-Crocker Garage: California Street between Taylor and Mason
-Brockle Garage: Sacramento Street between Mason and Powell
-Sutter-Stockton Garage: Stockton Street between Sutter and Bush
-California Parking Garage: Sutter Street between Jones and Leavenworth
-Butterick Garage: Sutter Street between Jones and Leavenworth
-State Garage: Leavenworth between Sutter and Bush We strongly encourage guests to use public transportation as parking and traffic can be tough around the Nob Hill Masonic Center. Below is a list of possible public transportation routes.
-Cable Car: The California Street cable car stops at California and Taylor, just before the Nob Hill Masonic Center. The Powell Street cable car stops at Powel and California, just two blocks away
-Bus: The #1 California and the #27 Bryant Busses stop within two blocks of the Nob Hill Masonic Center
-BART: Exit at Powell Street or Embarcadero station and walk, take a taxi or ride the cable car. Both stations are about 10 blocks away.

Description	Date	Time	Location
Commencement Ceremony	May 16	2:00 to 4:00 pm Graduates must arrive by 1:00 pm Accommodated seating begins at 1:00 pm General seating begins at 1:30 pm	The Nob Hill Masonic Center, 1111 California Street (between Jones and Taylor Streets), San Francisco, California The Nob Hill Masonic Center