Ready for commencement?

Dear Class of 2012:

As the 2011-2012 academic year comes to a close, it is my pleasure to provide you with information about your upcoming graduation. You have worked hard to reach Commencement Day, and I am sure you feel great pride in this accomplishment—as do I and all of us at the School of Design.

To celebrate, we’ve scheduled a number of festivities leading up to Commencement.  Following the MFA Thesis Show opening at the Crane Arts Building on Thursday, May 10, we will officially kick off our celebration with the opening of REVEAL, our Year End Show and annual end-of-year celebration on the plaza. Reimagined as a studio show representing all departments, the exhibition will be open throughout alumni and commencement weekend.

Saturday, May 12 we've invited alumni and friends to join us for two events involving our faculty:

• Beginning at 9am in Meyerson Lower Gallery, I will join Harris Steinberg in conversation with Alex Krieger, Ken Greenberg, Inga Saffron in celebration of PennPraxis@10--and look ahead to what's next.
• Following lunch under the tent, at 2pm, join Laurie Olin, Susan Weiler, and Stephen Kieran in Lower Gallery for a discussion about the relationship between architecture and landscape architecture, looking at their recent U.S. Embassy (London) and Dilworth Plaza projects.

Sunday, May 13 at 4pm, we will formally recognize this year’s student and faculty award winners, with remarks from Barton Myers, MArch'64.    

Monday, May 14 the University of Pennsylvania’s 256th Commencement will take place at 10:15 am on Franklin Field.  Following this ceremony, PennDesign will host a luncheon in Meyerson Hall, then convene at 1:30pm on Furness Plaza for PennDesign's Commencement ceremony. Ken Greenberg, architect and urban Designer and Principal, Greenberg Consultants, Inc., will offer remarks as this year’s Commencement speaker.  We have arranged for the ceremony to be videotaped and posted online 48 hours following the event.

I am confident that your education here has both sharpened your acuity and provided practical tools to make a genuine impact in this world.  As you leave PennDesign to join ranks with our 10,000+ alumni, know that you have an open invitation to come back often to share your successes with us--perhaps even during a Friday happy hour.

Kudos again! I look forward to greeting each one of you as you cross the stage.

With my best wishes for continued exploration and learning,

Marilyn Jordan Taylor 
Dean and Paley Professor

PS - For your convenience, please find the complete schedule online, also available as a PDF.