Students celebrating at Commencement

Commencement

Commencement Ceremony

The Commencement Ceremony provides a capstone to a weekend full of concerts, receptions, and other events that showcase and celebrate the achievements of the graduates and their time at Grinnell.

  • students tossing their hats at the 2024 Commencement Ceremony

    Commencement 2025

    Monday, May 19, 2025
    10 a.m. CDT (-5:00 UTC) 
    Fieldhouse within the Bear Recreation and Athletic Center.

    The 2025 ceremony will be streamed live for those unable to attend. The ceremony marks the culmination of hard work, dedication, and academic achievement by the graduates.

    You can find the 2025 Commencement program (PDF) on our website and videos from past Commencement ceremonies on the Grinnell College YouTube channel.

The Ceremony

  • Seniors in full academic regalia applaud at 2022 Commencent ceremony

    Virtual

    Join Commencement Online

    We welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us online to celebrate Commencement. We stream each Commencement ceremony live. Follow along in 2025 Commencement program (PDF).

    Follow us on Instagram and Facebook and join the conversation: #Grinnell2025 and #GoForthGrinnellian

    We post a full set of videos from the most recent ceremony on our YouTube channel.

  • Post-commencement picnic

    Picnic

    Commencement Picnic

    Monday, May 19, 2025
    Following the Commencement Ceremony  
    Auxillary Gym and Darby Gym

    Following the Commencement ceremony, graduates and their guests are invited to join an indoor picnic lunch. 

  • Speaker at podium in Herrick Chapel speaking to seniors and guests, laural leaf banners in the background

    Baccalaureate

    Baccalaureate Ceremony

    Sunday, May 18, 2025
    9–11 a.m. CDT
    Herrick Chapel

    “Baccalaureate is a farewell, a leave-taking.” — Professor Katya Gibel Mevorach, 2017 Grinnell College Baccalaureate

    Baccalaureate is open to all graduates, families, and friends. The ceremony celebrates our seniors and their accomplishments as they prepare for the next part of their Grinnell journey.

  • bouquet of red roses

    Gifts

    Gifts for Graduates

    Flowers and gifts are available to order online and pick up at the event.

    You can also find many Grinnell College gifts at the Pioneer Bookshop, Grinnell College’s bookstore.

    Order flowers and gifts to pick up at Commencement on May 19, 2025.

Visitor Information

Grinnell College welcomes the participation of people of all abilities at Commencement Weekend. Please contact Event Coordination and Scheduling if you have a disability that requires accommodation for participation in an event. 

Drop-Off Location

Those with difficulty walking can be dropped off near Herrick Chapel where a limited number of golf carts will be available to assist them.

Induction Hearing Loop/T-Coil

Central Campus is equipped with an induction hearing loop system, which enables individuals with hearing aids set to T-Coil to hear the program.

American Sign Language (ASL)

ASL interpretation is provided for the Exercises of Commencement. Contact Event Coordination and Scheduling to arrange assigned seating with a clear view.

Large Print Programs

Contact Event Coordination and Scheduling, 641-269-3178, at least two weeks before Commencement for large print versions of programs (includes weekend activities with programs as well as Commencement). We will also post the Commencement ceremony program information online shortly before the event.

Accessible Parking, Ramps, and Routes

For information about accessible (handicap) parking, ramps, and routes through campus, see the Campus Accessibility Map and the parking and shuttle information on this page.

Parking

  • Parking is limited on campus, so please arrive early.
  • Accessible (handicap) parking is available in the Forum lot on a first-come, first-served basis with a valid handicap placard.

Local Shuttle Service

Runs Monday morning beginning at 7:30 a.m. with pick-up from:

  • AmericInn
  • Super 8
  • Quality Inn
  • Country Inn
  • Hotel Grinnell

Shuttles will drop off at Herrick Chapel and run every 30 minutes.

After Commencement, shuttles will pick up guests from the Forum parking lot and return to local hotels until 2 p.m.

Note: Local shuttles will not provide airport or out-of-town hotel pickups. See the Hotel and Transportation Package.

Golf Carts

Available for guest transport to and from Baccalaureate on Sunday and Commencement on Monday.

  • Sunday: 8–9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
  • Monday: 9–10 a.m. and noon-1:30 p.m.

Note: This is not an on-call service; carts will roam campus to assist guests.

Hotel and Transportation Package

For those flying into Des Moines, we’ve partnered with students to offer a travel package.

Offer expires on May 1, 2025.
Hotel: Hampton Inn Des Moines Airport ($149/night)
Shuttle: $50 per person, per day (Sunday and Monday only)

Note:

  • Space is limited, and reservations are first-come, first-served.
  • The hotel and shuttle must be booked together.

For more information or to book, email Jaci Hardman.

 

Grinnell College will arrange for a photographer to take photos of all graduates at the ceremony. Proofs will be provided to the families of each graduate.

Plan Your Visit

Coming in person? You may find the following information useful.

Graduate and guest take a selfie

Personal Planning

Grinnell College welcomes the participation of people with disabilities. Please make requests for accommodations to Conference Operations and Events; accessible parking and facilities are indicated on the campus map. 

Strand 3 Movie Theatre exterior with lights on at dusk

Local Facilities

Downtown Grinnell is relatively flat and conducive to walking, as well as close to campus.

Interstate sign for Exit 182

Travel

Grinnell College’s location in Central Iowa makes it an easy drive from any major city in the Midwest. Visitor parking is available on and around campus. Illegally parked cars will be ticketed.

Shuttles will be available from local hotels.

See campus map and directions

Traditions

  • Grinnelll College professors in academic regalia

    Academic Regalia

    The custom of wearing a distinctive dress for academic ceremonies dates to the Middle Ages. Academic dress worn at commencements and other college and university ceremonial occasions lends dignity and color and reveals academic achievements through the style of gowns and hoods, and their varying colors.

    Based on the costumes worn at universities in the 14th and 15th centuries — especially at Oxford and Cambridge in England — today’s academic dress is essentially the same as that standardized in the United States by the Intercollegiate Code adopted in 1895. It includes the familiar square mortarboard cap with a tassel that may be black, gold, or an appropriate color, such as pink for a degree in music.

    Read more about academic regalia.

  • grotesque carved into stone columns

    Grinnell Traditions

    With more than 175 years of tradition, Grinnell has a legacy worthy of its past, future, and current community. From its abolitionist roots to the incubation of the Social Gospel movement, Grinnell has a deeply meaningful history and a legacy of activism.

    Learn about the College’s history

    Meet a few of our notable alumni

    Sing along with the Grinnell Songbook

  • Iowa College Bell in the foreground, with an audience at the commencement stage behind it

    Iowa College Bell

    The bell rung at many Grinnell College ceremonies is the original Iowa College bell. It rang out in the first and second locations of Iowa College in Davenport. According to the late Joseph Wall ’41, professor emeritus of history, when Iowa College was relocated to Grinnell, the bell was still hanging in the building that was the second home of Iowa College.

    The June 1932 issue of Grinnell and You tells the story of Dr. Harry Downer, class of 1882 — who worked for 18 years to procure the original bell for the College — including how he and his “clans … made a raid on the schoolhouse in the dead of a dark and stormy night, and rescued the bell, so long held in captivity.”

    Learn more about the Iowa College Bell

  • Iowa Band cane

    The Iowa Band Cane

    Carried by the College Marshal in the academic procession, the Iowa Band Cane has a silver head and a silver scroll attached a few inches below the head. The cane honors the Iowa Band, 11 Congregational ministers, all 1843 graduates of Andover Theological Seminary, who came to Iowa with a special purpose: “Each to found a church and all a college.”

    The ministers saw the latter part of their intention fulfilled with the founding of Iowa College (now Grinnell) in June 1846. The members of the Iowa Band were: Ephraim Adams, Harvey Adams, Ebenezer Alden Jr., James Jeremiah Hill, Horace Hutchinson, Daniel Lane, Eratus Ripley, Alden Burrill Robbins, Williams Salter, Benjamin Adams Spaulding, and Edwin Bela Turner.

    Benjamin Spaulding originally owned the cane, which was presented to him as a gift in 1864 by Dr. James Taylor of Ottumwa, Iowa. Spaulding had the idea that the eldest member of the Band should keep the cane until he died, and it would then pass to the next eldest member, and so on. When the cane was given to Spaulding, six of the original members survived. Their names (Spaulding, Lane, H. Adams, E. Adams, Robbins, and Salter) are inscribed on the cane. When Salter died in 1910, the cane was given to the College. The cane used today is a recreation of the original Iowa Band Cane.

Contact Us

For questions or to request an accommodation, please email Commencement or call 641-269-3179.

For media inquiries, please contact Mattia Wells, senior content strategist—media relations.

Contact Information

Phone
641-269-3178

Joe Rosenfield Center, Suite 206
1115 8th Ave.
Grinnell, IA 50112
United States

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