May 2023 ceremony
This Convocation is fully dedicated to Chemistry graduates, Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD degree candidates. Each graduate in attendance will be recognized individually and will receive a diploma cover.
Watch a recording of the May 14, 2023, Convocation ceremony.
Date and Time
Sunday, May 14, 2023
2:00 pm (doors open at 1:00 pm)
Tryon Festival Theatre (map)
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
Livestream link for Convocation.
Register Now
Click on the link above to register for the May 2023 event.
Contact
Heather Schulze, 217-244-9875, schulze@illinois.edu
Location
Tryon Festival Theatre in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
(map)
Please note that the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (KCPA) prohibits the following items inside the theatre: food, drinks, tripods, monopods, balloons, confetti, noisemakers, signs, air horns, baby carriers, and strollers. If you bring any of these items, you will be required to check these items at the Patron Services counter in the lobby before entering the theater.
Reception
A reception for all Department of Chemistry graduates and their families and friends will be held at the Illini Union, room 314, immediately following the ceremony.
List of Graduates
Chemistry at Illinois Class of 2023 | Chemistry at Illinois
Speaker
Dr. Alveda J. Williams (PhD, '02, Gupta)
Alveda Williams is the Chief Inclusion Officer at Dow. She is responsible for institutionalizing inclusion, diversity, and equity as key drivers for the Company’s long-term growth and business success.
Prior to being named Chief Inclusion Officer, Williams served as Corporate Director of Inclusion and Senior HR Director for Talent Acquisition where she was responsible for driving and implementing Dow’s global ID&E strategy, ensuring fair and equitable end-to-end talent acquisition processes, and embedding inclusion into the overall employee experience for breakthrough results. This included maximizing employee resource group engagement, diversifying Dow’s talent pipeline and supplier network, and driving efforts that enable a culture of inclusion for our employees, customers and communities.
Under Alveda’s leadership, Dow delivered meaningful progress on key inclusion and diversity performance indicators, ascended to the No. 15 spot on the DiversityInc Top 50 list, and was named for the first time to the Great Place to Work and Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For List.
Williams joined Dow in 2002 and has held a variety of leadership roles across Research and Development and Human Resources over her 20-year career. She is the creator of Dow’s Building Engineering & Science Talent at Dow (BEST) Symposium which introduces underrepresented minority Ph.D. talent to careers in industrial research. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Corporate Council, and the Chief Diversity Officer Board for the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4CP).
Williams earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Norfolk State University and a Ph.D. in materials chemistry from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds three patents and is the author of a number of internal and external publications, including a recent feature in Nature Chemistry magazine. She is the recipient of the NSBE Golden Torch Award for Corporate Diversity Leadership (2009), the prestigious Dow Transformation in Action Award (2012), the Council for Chemical Research Diversity Award (2013), Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching List (2014), and i4CP’s Board Member of the Year Award (2021).
Tickets:
Tickets will be required at the Chemistry Convocation Ceremony, there is a 6 ticket initial limit for graduates and can be picked up no earlier than April 24th.
Tickets will be available: Wednesday, April 26th, Monday, May 1st and Wednesday, May 3rd in 109 Noyes Lab from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Additional tickets may be available on a first-come, first-serve basis on May 4th (Reading Day). If you will not be on campus to pick up your tickets, please contact Heather Schulze by email at schulze@illinois.edu and your tickets will be held to be picked up backstage of KCPA when you check in.
Caps and Gowns:
Graduates and candidates must order academic attire on the web.
Photography:
Please note that the Department of Chemistry does not provide a photographer for our ceremony. Our ceremony is informal in nature and there will be ample time for family and friends to photograph their graduate.
Accessibility:
Please see the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts website for more information on accessibility options, and contact them at least two weeks in advance if your require any accommodations to attend.
Parking:
There is a garage located beneath Krannert Center, but spaces are extremely limited. Street parking may be available, but you should plan on allowing ample time to find parking in the vicinity. Some university lots, including the large one across Illinois Street on the north end of Krannert Center, may be open and available, but check the signs to see when permits are enforced. The lot across from the north side of Krannert Center is free for the public on weekends and evenings, but may fill up quickly due to the influx of traffic for Commencement weekend.
Additional Information:
The Department of Chemistry participates in the Illinois campuswide Commencement ceremony. For more information on Commencement at Memorial Stadium please visit the main Commencement website.
The Graduate College invites all Graduate Students to participate in their Doctoral Hooding Celebration. For more information please visit their website.