The University of Nevada, Reno's 2016 Spring Commencement will confer 2,710 degrees. The commencement exercises will take place in three ceremonies Friday, May 13 and Saturday, May 14, and will be held on the University's historic Quadrangle, located on the southern part of campus. Each ceremony focuses on particular colleges and grant both undergraduate and graduates degrees for each of those colleges.

Academic programs participating in the first undergraduate ceremony at 8 a.m., Friday, May 13, will be the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, College of Business and the Division of Health Sciences. The second ceremony, Friday at 5 p.m., includes the College of Engineering and the College of Science. The 8 a.m. ceremony Saturday, May 14, includes the academic programs of the College of Education, College of Liberal Arts and Reynolds School of Journalism.

Both morning ceremonies have the same start times: graduates report to their designated college line-up location by 7:45 a.m. and the ceremony procession begins at 8 a.m. Friday evening's ceremony begins with the student line-up at 4:30 p.m. and the procession at 5 p.m. Students receiving dual degrees may participate in more than one ceremony.

The Herz Gold Medal for Outstanding Scholarship will be awarded to Emily Ann Weissgerber, biology major, during Friday afternoon's ceremony. Also Friday afternoon, Kristen Avansino, Fatih Ozmen and Eren Ozmen will be honored with Honorary Degrees recognizing their significant and long-time contributions to the University, and two President's Medals will be awarded to alumnus Mark Knobel and Felicia O'Carroll. The campus introduced the President's Medal at the inauguration of President Joseph Crowley in 1979. And two Distinguished Nevadans will be honored, The Honorable Cliff Young and The Honorable Gregg W. Zive. The Distinguished Nevadan represents the most prestigious award conferred by the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

During the University's Commencement ceremonies this year, 2,114 bachelor degrees, 530 advanced-degree certificates (master's and doctoral degrees) and 66 University of Nevada School of Medicine degrees will be awarded. The University awarded 2,454 degrees last spring and has seen a 27 percent increase since 2010 due to increased enrollment and improved graduation rates.

Free public parking is available in the West Stadium Parking Complex and the Blue and Green surface lots. Shuttles will be available two hours before each ceremony. The Brian J. Whalen Parking Complex will be available for handicap parking. The Nevada Wolf Shop inside the Joe Crowley Student Union will be open 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., Friday, May 13, and 7 a.m. until 5 p.m., Saturday, May 14.

Several special programs on campus surround the University of Nevada, Reno's 2016 Spring Commencement:

• Cultural graduate celebrations honor the diversity of students. Organized through The Center for Student Cultural Diversity, these celebrations are designed to recognize the cultures students have brought with them to the University and shared during their time on campus.
• Honor the Best recognizes top students, faculty and staff. The award ceremony will be 3-5 p.m., Tuesday, May 10 in the Joe Crowley Student Union, Milt Glick Ballroom.
• The Senior Scholars Banquet recognizes outstanding seniors and their faculty mentors at 6 p.m., Wednesday, May 11 at the Joe Crowley Student Union Ballroom C.
• The Orvis School of Nursing Convocation, at 9 a.m., Thursday, May 12 in the Joe Crowley Student Union, Milt Glick Ballroom, is a pinning/hooding and awards ceremony for undergraduate, masters and doctorate of nursing practice nursing students.
• The Class of 1966 returns to campus for their 50th reunion during the Golden Reunion Reception and Campus Tour at 11 a.m., Thursday, May 12 at Morrill Hall.
• The School of Social Work Convocation is at 11:30 a.m., Thursday, May 14 in the Church Fine Arts building, Nightingale Concert Hall.
• The University of Nevada School of Medicine Academic Hooding Ceremony is at 1 p.m., Friday, May 15 at Lawlor Events Center. The media contact for this event is Anne McMillin, 775-682-9254.

A live-stream of all three ceremonies will be available at and will be mobile-friendly. Closed captioning on mobile devices for the hearing impaired will also be available and can be accessed through a QR code provided at the event.

New this year, the University's commencement ceremony will feature a 20-foot-wide by 10-foot-wide screen, which will be hung above the main stage. The purpose of the screen is for more people to be able to better see what's taking place at each event. It will also offer closed captioning on the screen to better serve a diverse population.

University graduates and their families are encouraged to join the commencement conversations online by using the hashtag #PackPride. Those interested can also check out a detailed infographic about the Class of 2016 .

For additional information, including parking maps and directions, please visit unr.edu/commencement.