The end of their Penn experience and the beginning of the rest of their lives will come on Monday for members of the Class of 2001 as the University prepares for graduation weekend.
The University's 245th Commencement will be held on Monday morning at the newly redesigned Franklin Field.
The $200,000 changes at Franklin Field will improve the sound, lighting and efficiency of the ceremony, according to Penn officials.
"It's our expectation that the new design will improve Commencement enormously," University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman said.
The most notable change for Commencement will be the construction of a main stage for all ceremonies, a departure from the two stages used in the past.
Among the other key changes will be shifting the ceremony to use West Philadelphia as a backdrop and changing the seating arrangements for the roughly 20,000 people in the stands.
"The new arrangements will give people a full view of everything and make people feel a part of the celebration," Holtzman said.
Arizona Sen. John McCain will take the stage as this year's Commencement speaker. McCain, a former presidential candidate, will also receive an honorary degree.
Commencement will mark the official graduation for the Class of 2001.
Aside from the main Commencement ceremony on Monday, each individual undergraduate and graduate school will have separate ceremonies over the weekend.
Philadelphia Mayor John Street will be the speaker for the Graduate School of Fine Arts ceremony, which will be held Monday at 1:15 p.m. at the Furness Plaza.
Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., a 1992 College alumnus, will address College of Arts and Sciences graduates Sunday at 7 p.m.
Several other notable individuals are set to address Penn's graduates.
Rev. Floyd Flake, pastor of the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church and a former U.S. representative, will speak at the baccalaureate ceremony Sunday afternoon in Irvine Auditorium.
Chemistry Professor and 2000 Nobel Laureate Alan MacDiarmid will address Graduate School of Arts and Sciences graduates on Monday at 1 p.m. in Hamilton Village.
School of Education alumnus Diedre Farmbry, chief academic officer of the Philadelphia School District, will speak at the Graduate School of Education ceremony on Monday at 2 p.m. at the First District Plaza.
The undergraduate and masters students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science will listen to alumnus Oliver Boileau, Jr., former president of Northrop Grumman on Monday at 3 p.m. at Franklin Field.
The Doctoral Ceremony for the Engineering School will host former Secretary of the Navy and Chairman of J.F. Lehman & Company John Lehman Sunday at 4 p.m. in the University Museum.
Nursing Dean Emerita Claire Fagin will be the speaker for the School of Nursing Monday at 7 p.m. in the First District Plaza.
Alumnus and Nobel Laureate Michael Brown will speak to the School of Medicine Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Academy of Music.
Penn Political Science Professor John DiIulio, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, will address the School of Social Work on Monday at 2 p.m. at the University Museum.
Wharton undergraduates will listen to Wharton senior Aaron Karo at 9 a.m. at Franklin Field, while Wharton graduate students will hear Narayana Murthy, chairman and CEO of Infosys Technologies, Sunday at 1 p.m. at Franklin Field.
In addition to McCain, Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty, Princeton Professor Daniel Kahneman, Brown President-elect Ruth Simmons and architects AndrZs Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk will receive honorary degrees.
