Congratulations, Class of 2017!

The 145th Commencement of the University of Kansas took place Sunday, May 14, 2017, in Memorial Stadium.

At 10:30 a.m., nearly 5,000 graduates began the traditional “walk down the Hill,” followed by a program and the conferral of degrees by Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little.

This year, an honorary degree was presented during Commencement to William McNulty, a U.S. Marine and Iraq War veteran who created Team Rubicon, a non-profit agency that recruits military veterans to provide disaster relief and humanitarian aid around the world. View or read McNulty's address to the graduating seniors.

Chancellor Gray-Little closed the ceremony with a farewell address to the graduating seniors. In that address, she urged the Class of 2017 to "run toward the chaos. Run toward the situations where you can make a difference. Use the knowledge and the sense of civic responsibility you’ve developed at KU to improve those situations, help people and make this world a better place."

View the 2017 Commencement photo album

Below is the video that played in Memorial Stadium to open the Commencement ceremony.

The Commencement event is coordinated by the Office of Event Management and Protocol on behalf of the Office of the Chancellor.