COLUMBUS – For the fifth year in a row, Ohio State will be handing out a record number of diplomas at its spring commencement, the first time the number has topped 12,000.
The university will award a record 12,213 degrees and certificates during the ceremony Sunday at Ohio Stadium.
5 years of records:
2019 – 12,213
2018 – 11,907,
2017 – 11,734
2016 – 11,235
2015 – 11,040
Source: The Ohio State University
The commencement address will be given by Fareed Zakaria, host of Fareed Zakaria GPS (Global Public Square) for CNN Worldwide and columnist for The Washington Post, who will also receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
Ohio Stadium opens at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. No tickets are required. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here for a list of prohibited items.
The ceremony will be live-streamed on the university website.
Guests should be in their seats by 11:45 a.m. since access to certain areas will be restricted until after the class processionals, which begin at French Field House and the Recreational and Physical Activity Center at 11:40 a.m., have concluded.
Woody Hayes Drive will be closed to vehicular traffic during the procession to the stadium.
The ceremony is expected to last between 2 1/2 and 3 hours.