You are invited to the 109th Opening Convocation to honor the entering students of 2023, on Sunday, August 20 at 1:45 p.m.
On the afternoon of Opening Convocation, the faculty assemble in academic regalia no later than 12:45 p.m. in the basement of McFarlin Auditorium. At approximately 1:00 p.m. the entering students march through Dallas Hall Rotunda and down the diagonal walk between Dallas Hall and McFarlin Auditorium. Upon entering McFarlin, faculty greet the new students as they enter the lobby. Once all new students have found their seats, the Faculty Marshals line-up all faculty and lead the procession to faculty seating. Retired faculty march at the head of the procession, followed by in-service faculty and new faculty members.
If you need to rent academic regalia for the ceremony, please send your regalia order to the SMU Bookstore at gm526@bncollege.com by Friday, July 15. Please include your name, height, weight or dress size, cap size, highest degree information and area of study, and the institution where your highest degree was earned. Academic regalia may be picked up from the SMU Bookstore beginning Tuesday, August 16 to Saturday, August 20. The Office of the Provost pays the rental cost for your regalia.
If you plan to attend Opening Convocation, please RSVP as soon as possible and no later than August 1. An RSVP is necessary to reserve a seat. If you do not RSVP by the deadline, we cannot guarantee you a seat in the faculty section.
Faculty who are unable to attend can watch the live-stream of the ceremony at smu.edu/live.
Please direct all questions regarding Opening Convocation to ceremonies@smu.edu or call the Division of Enrollment Services at 214-768-3417.