Commencement

The Class of 2021 Commencement was held Friday, May 21, 2021 at 10:30 a.m.  View Program

The Class of 2020 Commencement was held Saturday, May 22, 2021 at 10:30 a.m.  View Program

The ceremonies were approximately 2.5 hours.

The Commencement ceremonies were held outdoors, on the Winslow Great Lawn. Goucher adheared to all state and national public health guidance for physical distancing, face coverings, and other measures due to the continuing pandemic.

Winslow Great Lawn is between #2, The Athenaeum, and #14, Katharine and Jane Welsh Hall, on the Campus Map (PDF).

Addressing the Class of 2020 was Rear Admiral Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben, Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives and a 1982 Goucher College graduate.

Brandon M. Scott, Mayor of Baltimore City, addressed the class of 2021 and was also awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

The order website for regalia has closed.

If you have not purchased your regalia yet and are planning on attending Commencement, contact the College Store at customer.service@goucher.edu for options.

If you purchased your regalia last year and need to obtain your hood before Commencement, contact the College Store with your name and degree at customer.service@goucher.edu.

Graduates are welcome to decorate their caps.

Please remember to bring all items with you to commencement, there will be no spare regalia at the ceremony.

For any questions concerning regalia, please contact customer.service@goucher.edu

Deadline to order was April 22.

We're asking all graduates to submit a photo of themselves that we can show as their name is called during the conferring of the degrees at Commencement. Please see emails from 4/23 and 4/26 for details and links to upload your photo by 4/30.

Graduates who choose to participate in the ceremonies virtually were emailed Zoom links on the morning of Thursday, May 20. 

Family, friends, Goucher faculty, and staff were able to watch a livestream of commencement on Goucher’s YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/gouchercollege. 

The videos will be available on YouTube immediately following the ceremonies, and higher resolution versions will be added the following week.

All graduates who RSVP’d via the Goucher College website by May 2, 2021 were sent ticketing information via email from MarchingOrder on May 8. This email gave instructions on how to register and claim tickets for the upcoming graduation ceremony. 

Any graduates experiencing issues with the ticketing site should reach out to support@marchingorder.com.

If you did not register before the May 2^nd deadline and need to do so, please email angela.mcdonald@goucher.edu before 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 14.

Graduates and their guests MUST HAVE TICKETS, whether paper or electronic (iPad, tablet, cell phone) and be prepared to display them at the gatehouse to be allowed onto campus.

Campus Safety will check tickets. ANYONE WITHOUT A TICKET WILL BE TURNED AWAY.

Tickets are non-transferrable.

All graduates and guests must have one of the following:

• Fully vaccinated (two doses of Moderna or Pfizer or one dose of Johnson & Johnson and two weeks past the last dose);
• Received all vaccination (two doses of Moderna or Pfizer or one dose of Johnson & Johnson);
• Received one dose of Moderna or Pfizer;
• Tested negative within 7 days of Commencement;
• Had COVID in the last 90 days.

Prior to arrival, graduates and guests must also perform this self-check of COVID symptoms. If you are experiencing any symptoms, you will not be allowed on campus.

Graduates must arrive by 8:00 a.m. to accommodate the Campus Safety checks at the gate.

Graduates should arrive robed or don their robes at their cars and be in Rosenberg Gallery in Kraushaar by 9:15 a.m. to line up for the processional.

More information on the line-up will be provided closer to the date.

Enter through the main campus gate at 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Baltimore, 21204.

Graduates may drive separately from their guests due to their earlier arrival time for line-up.

Each person (graduate & guests) must have:

• A ticket
• A clear COVID symptom self-check
• Be wearing a face covering; face coverings can be removed when sitting outside in your chair on the Great Lawn. Once leaving your seat, you will need to wear your face covering.

PLEASE NOTE: Graduates and guests without the appropriate check-in items, or cars with more than the allotted number of guests, WILL BE TURNED AWAY to maintain safety protocols. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Parking

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Parking is in the Dorsey Lot. Once through the gate, turn at the second left. Staff will be in place to provide direction.

Limited Mobility Drop Off

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Those with limited mobility may be dropped off at the Athenaeum (#2 on campus map). Once checked in at the gatehouse by Campus Safety, follow signage.

No Campus Re-Entry

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After a car with the maximum number of guests has been checked in by Campus Safety, if guests leave campus, they will not be readmitted.

Guests who need accessibility services are encouraged to arrive by 9 a.m.  When you arrive on campus, public safety officers will direct you to special parking areas. Ample seating for guests with mobility limitations will be provided in a designated area along the perimeter of the lawn. Please look for the reserved seating signs or ask an usher for assistance if you cannot find one of these locations. Individuals who require American Sign Language are encouraged to sit close to the front of the audience, where there will be a better view of the interpreter. Closed captions will also be viewable on a livestream of Commencement on screens in the Hyman Forum of the Athenaeum (#2 on map), and Mary Fisher Dining Center (#15 on map).

There will be both indoor and outdoor seating options—first come, first served.

• Each graduates’ two guests will be seated in pairs, with six feet of distance between each pair.
• Seats may not be saved.
• One person must remain at the seats at all times.
• Chairs should not be moved.

Restrooms will be available inside the Athenaeum next to the Commencement location, Winslow Great Lawn.

We know graduates will be excited to see faculty and staff! Following the ceremony, there will be designated areas (PDF) where graduates and guests may briefly visit with faculty and staff, observing physical distancing and wearing face coverings.

There will also be designated areas for picture taking, which we encourage! Follow signage and continue to observe physical distancing while taking your photos. We’d love to see them: use hashtag #Goucher2020 or #Goucher2021 on social media.

The campus will remain open until 3:00 p.m. Please allow time for returning to your car and following signage to exit campus.

Commencement Map

Graduating seniors who make a generous gift of $20.21 to support current and future Gophers will be awarded a commemorative Royal Blue tassel with a gold Goucher “G” charm to wear on their caps and in recognition of their support. Donors who make their gift by April 29 will also have their name printed in the May commencement program, honoring them as donors. To make your Senior Class Gift please visit the giving page here. For more information about the senior class gift, please contact the Annual & Affinity Giving office at gophers@goucher.edu or 410.337.6032

For those attending from out of town, a list of nearby hotels can be found here. A Goucher discount may be available, so please ask, but pricing is at the discretion of the hotel.

On-campus housing will not be available for those students not already residing on campus.