Liberty University prepares for Commencement Week festivities

UPDATE: Due to impending inclement weather, the Commencement Main Ceremony has been moved to 9:30 a.m. on Friday, May 6. The decision was made out of a concern for the safety of graduates and their families. For the Main Ceremony, the gates at Williams Stadium will open at 6 a.m. for guests, and the student processional will begin at 8:30 a.m. Umbrellas will be permitted in the stadium, and ponchos will be available on a first come, first served basis. (Graduates are to gather in the Liberty University Indoor Practice Facility no later than 8 a.m.) The day’s schedule has also been adjusted accordingly to lessen the impact of weather on the day’s festivities.

Schedule changes include:

• All Degree Presentation Ceremonies that were originally taking place at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 6, are now moving to 1 p.m. in their original locations. This affects John W. Rawlings School of Divinity — Undergraduate Programs, School of Education — Undergraduate Programs, and School of Engineering.
• The Military Graduate Recognition Ceremony, originally scheduled at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 6, has now moved to 4 p.m. in its original location.

• Commencement Check-In for Friday, May 6, has moved to a new time of noon–5 p.m.

Campus will be buzzing with an estimated 60,000 people this week to cheer on the over 9,800 graduates who plan to participate in Liberty University’s Commencement in Lynchburg.

For the first time since 2019, Liberty will hold its main ceremony in Williams Stadium. The event is planned for 6:30 p.m. Friday and will feature world-renowned Christian leadership expert John Maxwell as the keynote speaker. Friday’s ceremony will be the culmination of Liberty’s 50^th Anniversary celebration and will be capitalized by a spectacular fireworks display.

“It’s been three years since we’ve been able to welcome our usual number of guests to campus for a traditional main ceremony, and this year will be our largest number of total guests in Liberty’s history,” said Lori Baker, Program Manager for Commencement. “We’ve missed having Williams Stadium packed out with graduates and their loved ones. We are looking forward to celebrating the Class of 2022.”

In all, Liberty will confer degrees to over 23,000 graduates in the Class of 2022.

“Around 80 percent (18,505) of our graduates earned their degrees through Liberty University Online Programs, which means that so many have not been on our campus before,” Baker said. “We are excited to welcome them here and let them explore their campus — Commencement is one of the best times to do that.”

The campus festivities begin on Wednesday with an Army ROTC Commissioning Ceremony at 4 p.m., followed by three days of degree presentation ceremonies held in the Vines Center, Williams Stadium, Thomas Road Baptist Church, Liberty Arena, and LaHaye Multipurpose Center.

All degree ceremonies and the main ceremony will be streamed live from the Commencement website.

Graduates and their guests can also join in Liberty’s 50^th Anniversary celebration while they are in town by visiting some newly added features on campus.

A recently unveiled multimedia presentation projected onto the front of DeMoss Hall that explains the vision and purpose for the university will be shown every half-hour from 8 p.m. to midnight. The six-minute presentation is narrated by Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell, using various sermons and speeches he made over the years. The setup is similar to the large video projections used at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.

From the Hancock Welcome Center, guests can take the self-guided Legacy of Faith Historic Walk. Following the footprints of Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell, guests can take a walking tour to nine stops across campus that mark milestones in Liberty’s history. At each marker, they can scan a QR code on their mobile device that will take them to a webpage with an article and video. In the school’s earliest years, Falwell would walk and pray over the grounds, so this tour will serve as a literal walk down memory lane as guests reflect upon the years of faith and prayer that forged Liberty University. The university first opened the walk at Homecoming in October, but it recently added permanent markers with a footprint engraving made from a pair of Falwell’s own shoes.

Special tours of campus will also be available to those who make reservations through the Commencement website.

Guests can also enjoy some sporting events as Liberty Baseball takes on Jacksonville on Worthington Field on Saturday and Sunday; both games begin at 1 p.m.

For a full schedule of Liberty’s Commencement Weekend, information about parking and security, and a list of FAQs, visit the Commencement website.

Class of 2022 Facts & Figures

• Liberty will award 867 associate degrees, 9,653 bachelor’s degrees, 1,267 graduate certificates, 8,534 master’s degrees, 1,543 doctoral degrees, and 1,197 Liberty Online Academy high school program diplomas. Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine will celebrate 147 graduates. Liberty University School of Law will award 69 juris doctorates.
• 5,701 military graduates (including 1,900 active duty) and 2,539 military spouses
• The top states represented by this year’s graduating class are: Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, California, and Maryland. Outside of the United States, the top countries represented are: Canada, Korea, Japan, Nigeria, China, Germany, Bahamas, and United Kingdom.
• 10,566 graduating with honors, including 3,746 with a perfect 4.0 GPA
• 31 married couples are graduating together, as well as 62 parents graduating with a child and 164 pairs of siblings, including 20 sets of twins.
• The average age of the graduating class is 35. The oldest graduate is 91, earning a bachelor’s degree, and the oldest postgraduate degree recipient is 83. The youngest associate and bachelor’s degree recipients are both 15.

• Top 5 Residential Undergraduate Degrees

• • Business Administration
  • Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Psychology
  • Nursing
  • Criminal Justice

• Top 5 Residential Graduate/Doctoral Degrees

• • Osteopathic Medicine
  • Juris Doctorate
  • Master of Business Administration
  • Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  • Biomedical Sciences
• Top 5 Online Undergraduate Degrees

• • Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Psychology
  • Business Administration
  • Criminal Justice
  • Religion

• Top 5 Online Graduate Degrees

• • Master of Business Administration
  • Human Services Counseling
  • Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  • Doctor of Education
  • Criminal Justice