Commencement

Congratulations class of 2022!

Upcoming Commencement Dates

• May Commencement: May 21, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. outside Quimby Library at 90 Quaker Hill Road, Unity, Maine.
• December Commencement: December 16, 2022. Location and hour TBD.

Important to-do list for Graduates

• Apply to graduate. Application is open now and closes on May 1, 2022. Your name will not appear in the commencement program if you apply to graduate after the May 1 deadline. Please login to your student portal to complete the Application for Degree.
• Get tickets if you plan on coming to the in-person ceremony. If you are planning on attending commencement, you and your (up to) two guests will need to provide proof of vaccination, including a booster shot, or have a negative COVID-19 PCR test administered within 72 hours of the Commencement Ceremony by completing the ticket request and campus access pass form. We must receive this form by May 1, 2022. Note: Request for tickets is now closed. 
• Order your regalia. Undergraduate and master’s regalia orders are made online. Only students who have applied to graduate will be able to order their regalia. Students who plan on attending the in-person ceremony should order their regalia by May 1, 2022 in order to receive it in time for the ceremony. Note: Ordering regalia for May Commencement is now closed. If you are a graduate and would like to have your regalia sent to you after May 21, the regalia order portal will reopen on May 23, 2022. 
• Pay the graduation fee. $100.00 must be paid no later than May 1, 2022.
• Check out the one-stop shop to purchase cap & gown, graduation announcements, diploma frames, and more!
• Tell your hometown newspaper you are graduating. Download the template. 

Commencement and Covid-19

Non-vaccinated guests and guests who do not provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test administered within 72 hours of the Commencement Ceremony are not allowed on campus and individuals without a ticket and campus access pass are prohibited from attending commencement. 

The ceremony will also be live-streamed on the Unity College Facebook Page for those who cannot attend the in-person ceremony. The ceremony will also be recorded and viewed after the ceremony. 

We follow CDC safety guidelines and directives of the Governor of Maine. Graduates and guests should be aware that Covid-related safety concerns may cause commencement events to be canceled or rescheduled at any time.

May 2022 Commencement Speaker: Dr. Sylvia Washington

Dr. Washington is a highly accomplished and successful environmental epidemiologist, environmental engineer, historian, and clinician with over 30 years of research experience working on the impact of industrial pollution on human health. She was instrumental in the successful implementation of the Research Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Superfund and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations for effluents and solid waste derived from power generation sources (space and terrestrial systems) for both private industry and NASA.   

She is a published author of Packing Them In: An Archeology of Environmental Racism in Chicago, 1865-1954 and Echoes from the Poisoned Well: Global Memories of Environmental Injustice, and the creator and editor in chief of the first international environmental health disparities journal, Environmental Justice.

She was the first African-American historian to study and publish a formal history of environmental injustices in the United States in 2006. Dr. Washington was the first African American to receive a PhD in the History of Science, Technology, Environment and Medicine from Case Western Reserve University in 2000 and the first African American woman to ever receive a Master of Science in Systems and Control Engineering from Case Institute of Technology (1987).  

She was also the first black woman to become a journeyman engineer at NASA, Region V where she worked on the public and environmental health risks of low earth orbit missions after the 1987 Challenger Disaster. Dr. Washington consults regularly with environmental law firms as well as grass roots community groups to help them understand the history of industrial operations, transportation systems and municipal planning’s impact on human health and environmental health disparities.  

What to do and expect on the day of Commencement

The ceremony will begin with a processional of all graduates followed by greetings and speeches, the conferring of degrees, the tassel-turning ceremony, and the recessional. The ceremony lasts around 1.5 hours.

• The event will be held outside the Quimby Library, 90 Quaker Hill Road in Unity, Maine on May 21, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.
• The venue opens at 1:00 p.m. All graduates and their guests should arrive by 1:00 p.m. to ensure ample time for parking and to pick up their reserved tickets.
• This is an outside event. Guests should be prepared for inclement weather or sun. An umbrella and sun protection (hat, sunscreen) are recommended. 
• Seats are reserved in advance and are only available for graduates and their up to two guests. The deadline for reserving seats/tickets is May 1, 2022. Tickets are reserved here. 
• Commencement programs will be provided in a digital, print-ready format on the day of commencement and online here. Names of all May 2022 graduation candidates who have completed the application for degree by May 1, 2022 will be included in the program. 
• Only the names of graduates who are in attendance will be read aloud. 
• ​​Please note that participation in the ceremony does not presume graduation from the College. Degrees are conferred only after all academic requirements are met and the Board of Trustees has taken official action. We congratulate you on your accomplishments and look forward to seeing you at the ceremony!

Checking in

• All graduates and guests must check in at the ticketing table just outside the library to pick up their tickets.
• Each ticket holder must show identification.
• Masks must be worn at all times.
• Only those who have reserved tickets in advance will be allowed into the venue.
• Those who have chosen to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test administered within 72 hours of the Commencement Ceremony need to show this proof in order to enter the venue. 

For graduates

• Make sure to bring your regalia to commencement. Regalia must be ordered in advance and by May 1, 2022. 
• Master’s degree recipients must bring their regalia and hood.
• Honors and military cords will be distributed at this time.
• Graduates will line up at 1:30 in the parking lot located next to the Library. A group photo will be taken before walking to the stage via the traditional processional. 

For all ticketed guests

• There will be signage as well as officers to assist with parking as you approach campus.
• Parking will be near the gym, in the commuter parking lot. Visitors who requested handicap parking will be allowed to park next to the gym.
• Officers of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department and Unity College Public Safety will be on hand to help maintain a safe and secure environment for all.
• All packs, bags, and purses will be subject to visual inspection upon entry to the venue. In order to speed entry into the event, please consider leaving any bags at home or in your vehicle.
• Any items deemed inappropriate or disruptive by Unity College or Waldo County Sheriff’s Department staff will not be allowed.

Items to leave at home

• Alcohol
• Coolers
• Backpacks
• Large handbags
• Metal folding seat cushions
• Seats that clamp onto bleachers
• Noise-making devices
• Mace, pepper spray, aerosol cans or similar substances
• Signs
• Banners
• Sticks or poles
• Weapons or items that mimic weapons
• Any item deemed dangerous or inappropriate
• Wrapped gifts or packages.

Items that will be permitted

• Food and clear reusable water bottles
• Sunscreen and hats
• Cameras
• Video recorders
• Binoculars
• Small handbags
• Pagers and cell phones (set to silent or vibrate)
• Seat cushions
• “Umbrella”- type strollers that can be stowed at your seat (stroller storage is not available inside the gymnasium)
• Umbrellas

Location

Parking

• Parking is free for graduates and their guests.
• Upon arriving on campus parking attendants will be on hand to assist you.

Commencement Livestream

Commencement will be livestreamed on May 21 at 2:00 p.m. on the Unity College Facebook Page.

Special Accomodations

Restricted Mobility

Seating to accommodate guests in wheelchairs will be provided to registered guests. Please make sure to request this accommodation when applying for tickets.  

Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Reserved seating for guests who read American Sign Language will be available. Please make sure to request this accommodation when applying for tickets.  

Diplomas and Graduation

Degree candidates will not earn degrees nor be graduated from the College until they have completed all degree requirements.

Participation in a commencement ceremony does not presume graduation from the College. Students who do not apply for graduation before the published deadline for any term must apply for graduation during the next term. Students who have applied for graduation but fail to meet the requirements must reapply for graduation by the published deadline for the term in which they will fulfill the requirements. Degrees are conferred only after all requirements are completed and the Board of Trustees has taken official action. Once confirmed, students are mailed their diplomas to the address on record.

Transcripts

Information about transcripts can be found here. 

Questions

If you have any questions, please reach out to marketing@unity.edu.