Traffic Advisory: UH Mānoa spring 2025 commencement Saturday

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The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will hold its spring commencement exercises on Saturday, May 17, at the Stan Sheriff Center. Student residents will also be moving out of the residence halls from May 15-17.

Commencement ceremonies will be held at 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on May 17. The ceremonies will also be available via webcast from the Mānoa Commencement page. More than 2,500 candidates for bachelor's, master's and doctorates are registered to participate in the ceremonies.

Olympic gold medalist and five time world surf champion Carissa Moore will be the commencement speaker.

9 a.m. ceremony:

• College of Arts, Languages & Letters
• College of Natural Sciences
• College of Social Sciences
• College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resilience
• Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge
• Interdisciplinary Studies
• School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology

3:30 p.m. ceremony

• College of Education
• College of Engineering
• John A. Burns School of Medicine
• School of Architecture
• School of Nursing & Dental Hygiene
• Shidler College of Business
• Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health

Prior to the start, vehicles may be backed up on H-1 near the university in both directions. Please drive with caution. After the ceremonies end, traffic will be heavy on Dole Street, University Avenue and other roads leading from campus.

Balloons, strollers and large signs on sticks are not allowed inside the arena. Overflow seating for the ceremony is in the Les Murakami Stadium. The ceremony will be shown live on the stadium screen.

Parking and carpooling

Campus parking is free. Disability accessible parking stalls are located on the third-floor Diamond Head side of the parking structure, with additional stalls distributed on each floor on the ʻEwa side of the parking structure and throughout lots on the main campus. For disability access information, call the Mānoa Commencement Hotline at (808) 956-GRAD (4723).

Shuttle service on campus

Parking shuttle service will be provided from 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. for the 9:00 a.m. ceremony and 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. for the 3:30 p.m. ceremony. The shuttle buses are wheelchair accessible and run a continuous route from the Biomedical Science Building to Krauss Circle. (A full list of stops can be found on the UH Mānoa Commencement web page.

Passenger Drop-Off and Pick-Up Areas

The designated passenger drop-off and pick-up area will be on the ground floor area between the parking structure and the Athletic Complex. Signs will be posted to direct drivers to this area.

This area will be closed when the parking structure has filled and/or during the period when traffic is modified for exiting.

Congratulating graduates

After the ceremony, guests may meet graduates to bestow their congratulations and lei near the appropriate alphabetical signs on the T.C Ching Complex field (last names A-K) and the Les Murakami Stadium field (last names L-Z). Alphabet signs will be posted and maps will be available in the commencement program. Lei vendors will be available along the sidewalk between both fields.

We ask that those presenting lei to graduates leave the plastic clamshell containers behind as they overwhelm the trash receptacles. To preserve our athletic fields, potentially damaging shoes (i.e. stiletto heels, metal cleats, etc), streamers, and confetti are prohibited.

For more information on commencement, go to: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/commencement/.