All the essential details for La Salle’s in-person ceremonies and events

It’s time for La Salle University to cue up “Pomp and Circumstance.” Well, almost.

Preparations are under way for La Salle’s Commencement Weekend, including separate May 15 ceremonies at Lincoln Financial Field that honor the Classes of 2020 and 2021.

Here’s what to expect from La Salle’s Commencement Weekend:

The events

On Saturday, May 15, La Salle will host two ceremonies—10 a.m. for the Class of 2021 and 3 p.m. for the Class of 2020—at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia. They are preceded by a Baccalaureate Mass at La Salle’s McCarthy Stadium on Friday, May 14.

The University will confer degrees upon roughly 1,500 students from the Class of 2021 and celebrate the nearly 1,600 members of the Class of 2020.

Making history

For a second straight year, La Salle’s Commencement will make University history—while also looking and feeling a bit differently for the second straight year.

The University’s May 15 ceremonies represent the first commencement ever held at Lincoln Financial Field, a 70,000-seat stadium that opened its doors in August 2003. It’s also La Salle’s first off-campus Commencement since 1996, when the University conferred degrees at the former Philadelphia Civic Center in University City.

Last year’s livestreamed ceremony for the Class of 2020 marked the first time in the University’s history that La Salle had conferred degrees to an entire graduating class through a manner other than an in-person ceremony.

Honorary degree recipients

Two alumni will receive honorary doctor of humane letters degrees.

Fran Dunphy, ’70, is the keynote for the Class of 2020 ceremony. The former La Salle basketball player who went on to win more games than any other coach in Philadelphia Big 5 history currently serves as acting director of athletics at Temple University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from La Salle.

Adam Schechter, ’86, will address the Class of 2021. A global business leader and health care executive, Schechter is the chief executive officer and chairman of Labcorp, which operates one of the largest clinical laboratory networks in the world. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from La Salle.

Tickets and guest protocol

Tickets will be required for guests to attend all Commencement Weekend events. Each graduate will be permitted to invite up to two guests to Baccalaureate Mass and up to four guests to their designated Commencement ceremony. Graduates can request up to two additional guests to their designated Commencement ceremony as part of our Wait List.

Guest tickets will be grouped in socially distanced pods of four seats and distributed directly from Lincoln Financial Field through Ticketmaster after the close of our Official Student Invitation response period on April 30. Seats will be automatically assigned based on time of submission. Any additional tickets offered to the Wait List will be in socially distanced pods of two and are not guaranteed to be in the same section as your original ticket allotment.

Importantly, guests must follow Lincoln Financial Field policies.

Staying safe

While Lincoln Financial Field is a rather spacious venue, La Salle is taking all necessary and essential precautions to ensure the safety of its faculty, staff, students, and their families. Face masks are required of anyone attending the in-person events. Event seating will be structured in a way that provides space for adequate physical distancing, too.

How to stream

La Salle will livestream both ceremonies via the University’s website for those who cannot attend or who prefer to watch from the comfort of their home.

More info?

Check out La Salle’s Commencement page for all the details around Commencement Weekend.

—Christopher A. Vito