Spring Commencement

Wingate graduates pose for a picture after commencement.

Graduate Ceremony
Friday, May 16, 2025
9 a.m.
Academic Quad

Undergraduate Ceremony
Saturday, May 17, 2025
9 a.m.
Academic Quad

With storms out of the area, we plan to proceed with Undergraduate Commencement at 11:30 a.m. in the Academic Quad. Guests can begin taking their seats. Graduates should begin lining up at 11 a.m. on Church Street. Faculty lineup will also begin at 11 a.m., in the EKS Library.

View the Senior Showcase!

Commencement Program

Wingate University is planning commencement ceremonies on its main campus on Friday, May 16 for the Graduate Ceremony and Saturday, May 17 for the Undergraduate Ceremony. There are no tickets required, seats are on a first come, first served basis, please plan to arrive early. The Academic Quad will be damp and we anticipate some areas of soft and unstable ground. Please wear suitable shoes to ensure stability and comfort.

Schedule of Events

Date	Event	Time	Location
Wednesday, May 14	Occupational Therapy Capstone Presentations	5 p.m.	Laverne Banquet Hall
Thursday, May 15	Graduate Education Commencement Event	5 p.m.	Laverne Banquet Hall
Thursday, May 15	Occupational Therapy Pinning Ceremony	6 p.m.	Austin Auditorium
Friday, May 16	Graduate Commencement	9 a.m.	Academic Quad
Friday, May 16	Nurse Pinning Ceremony	1 p.m.	Austin Auditorium
Friday, May 16	Athletics Senior Salute	3 p.m.	Cuddy Arena
Friday, May 16	Baccalaureate	4 p.m.	McGee Theater
Friday, May 16	Farewell Celebration	5 p.m.	Rotunda
Saturday, May 17	Undergraduate Commencement	9 a.m.	Academic Quad

Graduates

Graduation Requirements

A requirement to graduate is to apply for graduation. After you apply, make sure you communicate with the Registrar's Office about participation in the ceremony, with the Financial Planning Office to complete exit counseling and with the Business Office to clear any outstanding balances.

We recommend that you visit this page often to keep up to date with information. Check your email for communication from the registrar as well.

View all undergraduate graduation requirements

Rehearsal

Day of Commencement

Dress Code

Caps and gowns are required. See the tab below for information about purchasing your commencement regalia. Dress is business casual, and be mindful of footwear, as the ceremony is held outdoors during Spring Commencement.
Graduates may wear cords and stoles from approved Wingate University organizations, as well as Latin honor cords distributed by the Registrar's Office. Cords and stoles are vetted and approved by the Office of the Provost and the relevant Dean's Office. Refer to the Wingate Graduation webpage for a list of approved adornments. Cap decoration is permitted, if desired. The tassel on the cap begins on the right, and you will move it to the left when you are announced as a graduate.

For approval requests or inquiries related to graduation adornments, please contact provost@wingate.edu.

Participation & Diploma

Cap and Gown Purchase

Order Cap, Gown, etc. here.
View cords and stoles here
Undergraduates need a bachelor's degree cap and gown.
Graduate students receiving a MAED, MAT, MBA, MASM, MPAS, MPH or MAC degree are required to have a master's gown, hood and cap.
Graduate students receiving an EdS degree need a doctoral gown, a master's hood and cap.
Students receiving a Doctor of Education, Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Doctor of Pharmacy or Doctor of Physical Therapy degree are required to have the doctoral gown, hood, tam and tassel set.

The University reserves the right to remove a degree candidate from the commencement ceremony if the candidate is not wearing the approved regalia as shown below. Questions regarding regalia should be emailed to commencement@wingate.edu.

Bachelor's Regalia

Black robe with twin front pleats, long sleeves and a zipper closure.
The robe should fall around mid-shin length.
Mortarboards (cap) with black tassels.
Stoles (see photo to the left) are permitted.

Master's Regalia

Black robe with elongated sleeve extensions draping below the wrist openings.
The robe should fall around mid-shin to ankle length.
Mortarboards (cap) with black tassels.
Master's hood matching your degree:
- Accounting - Drab
- Education - Light Blue
- Sport Management - Sage Green
- Teaching - Light Blue
- Business Administration - Drab
- Physician Assistant Studies - Kelly Green

Education Specialist Regalia

Black robe with bell sleeves and three chevrons on each sleeve in light blue, fine pleating velvet panels from the hemline to the center of the back, also in your discipline color.
The robe should fall at ankle length.
Master's of Education hood.
Mortarboards (cap) with light blue tassel.

Doctoral Regalia

Black robe with bell sleeves and three chevrons on each sleeve in your discipline color, fine pleating velvet panels from the hemline to the center of the back, also in your discipline colors.
The robe should fall at ankle length.
Doctoral hood (longer ands wider than master's hoods).
Mortarboards (cap) with appropriate colored tassel.
- Pharmacy - Olive Green
- Education - Light Blue
- Physical Therapy - Gold

Class Ring

Student FAQs

Lyceum

Lyceum Series is a graduation requirement, and you will not be eligible to walk in commencement, your degree will not be conferred and you will not receive a diploma if you do not complete the lyceum requirement. The Lyceum Series only applies to undergraduate students (excluding those earning a BLS degree). If you have questions about Lyceum requirements, please contact Keyua McElveen.

Click here to check your Lyceum counts.

On-Campus Housing Check-Out

Seniors living on-campus will receive check-out procedures via email in the coming weeks. The deadline to check-out is by 5 p.m. the day of commencement. Seniors living on-campus should contact the Office of Residence Life at (704) 233-8245 if you have questions or concerns.

Honors Calculations

Undergraduate graduation honors are calculated using all college work attempted, but transfer work cannot raise the Wingate University GPA. Cumulative GPA is calculated by taking all quality points and dividing that by all hours attempted. GPAs are not rounded. As an example, if you have a 3.999, it will not be rounded to a 4.00.

Graduation honors are notated on your diploma (which will be mailed to you), on your transcript and in the commencement program. Your honors are also announced during the commencement ceremony. Due to the limited amount of time between final grades and commencement, honors may not be completely accurate.

Graduation honors are as follows:

Cum laude = 3.500 to 3.649 (Doctors of Pharmacy and Physical Therapy: Cum laude = 3.50 to 3.69)
Magna cum laude = 3.650 to 3.899 (Doctors of Pharmacy and Physical Therapy: Magna cum laude = 3.70 to 3.89)
Summa cum laude = 3.900 to 4.000 (Doctors of Pharmacy and Physical Therapy: Summa cum laude = 3.90 to 4.00)

Please contact the Office of the Registrar if you have questions on how to calculate your GPA.

The Pi Alpha Honor Society recognizes Physician Assistants who have significant academic achievement and honors, leadership, research, community/professional service and other related activities. The society also encourages a high standard of character and conduct among students and graduates. The students are recognized by a turquoise and grey cord.

Contact Us

Commencement Photos

Livestream Links

Guests & Visitors

Students & Guests with Special Needs

We designate a seating area for special needs access. The designated area utilizes folding chairs, which can be easily moved to make room for a wheelchair, walker or stroller.
Guests are advised to arrive early.
Standard handicap parking placards are required to park in handicap spots (see map below).
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact commencement@wingate.edu.

Map & Parking

General Parking

Parking for commencement is available in all campus parking lots. There is no cost to park. Campus safety and other staff will be available to direct guests. Guests are advised to arrive early.

Special Needs Parking

We are especially attentive to our guests who require a little extra help when traveling to Commencement. You or your guest must be attending Commencement and have a standard handicap parking placard to use handicapped parking for Commencement.

Driving Directions

Campus Map

Handicap Parking Lots

Tickets, Seating & Viewing

Tickets & Seating

There are no tickets required. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis.
Guests are advised to arrive early.
Overflow seating will be in Austin Auditorium with a livestream showing the ceremony.
We want this day to be a joyful occasion for all in attendance. We ask you to keep celebrations brief as your student crosses the stage. Students or guests will be asked to leave the ceremony if their actions interrupt or delay today’s ceremony. Thank you for your cooperation.
Ceremony Program

Livestream Links

Speakers

Tchernavia Montgomery

Chief Executive Officer, Care Ring

Tchernavia serves as CEO of Care Ring, a large non-profit organization in Mecklenburg County founded in 1955. Care Ring is dedicated to providing health care for the uninsured and underserved within our community. The organization removes access to care barriers for 8,000 people in Mecklenburg County annually and is a leader in collaborative efforts to improve health equity in our community. Under her leadership, the organization has grown in size, footprint and in visibility - nationally recognized for its programs and services.

A double graduate of UNC-Charlotte, Tchernavia is a master’s level clinical social worker with two decades of human services experience. She has passionately committed her career to solving problems surrounding poverty, having experienced periods of lack in her own life as a child and young adult.

She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Alliance Health (a $1 billion dollar, 7-county wide Medicaid managed care organization) and the North Carolina Healthcare Foundation. In 2024, Tchernavia received the American Heart Association’s “Heart of Gold” award; the Foundation for the Carolinas and Institute for Philanthropy Leadership’s Michael Mariscano Philanthropic Leadership Award; the “Vanguard of Change” and the 2024 Hornets Hero award for Wellness by the Charlotte Hornets/Blue Cross Blue Shield; and the Bissell Ballantyne Legacy Foundation "Bold Leadership" award. A 2023 Charlotte Ledger “40 Over 40” awardee, in 2021, she was also recognized with the City of Charlotte/Atrium Health's MLK Growing the Dream Award and UNC-Charlotte Black Alumni Association's Excellence in Leadership Award. She is a member of Charlotte’s Women Executives, and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta where she serves as a local chapter officer and a regional leadership team member. A resident of the Charlotte community for nearly 25 years, she is a true #BoyMom, sharing 3 sons with her loving husband William of 15 years.

Sathish Muthukrishnan

Chief Information, Data & Digital Officer,
Ally Financial

Sathish Muthukrishnan was named chief information, data and digital officer for Ally Financial Inc. in December 2019. In this role, Muthukrishnan is responsible for advancing Ally’s technical and digital capabilities, including customer experience, data & analytics, cyber security and infrastructure, and accelerating the company’s growth and evolution as a leader in the digital financial services sector. He reports to Ally’s CEO.

Muthukrishnan has been nationally recognized as a leader focused on digital transformation and emerging technology. In 2024, he was named Innovator of the Year by American Banker, inducted into the CIO Hall of Fame, and joined the Forbes CIO Next list for technology executives guiding their organizations into a new era. His teams have been honored multiple times by the CIO 100 and CSO 50 for top technology projects that demonstrate outstanding innovation, leadership and business value.

Prior to joining Ally, Muthukrishnan held several senior technology leadership roles with substantial scale and global reach, and previously served as the chief digital and information officer for Honeywell Aerospace, a $14 billion business within Honeywell International. He has more than 20 years of technology leadership experience in complex businesses with high availability and reliability requirements on their technology.

Hotels

Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriot (8 miles from Wingate – approx. 15 minutes)

Click here to reserve with a 15% Wingate Discount.
1825 Williams Rd. Monroe, N.C. 28110
(980) 290-2190

Holiday Inn Express (8 miles from Wingate – approx. 15 minutes)

Click here for the website.
2505 W. Roosevelt Blvd. Monroe, N.C. 28110
(704) 774-1770

Quality Inn & Suites (8 miles from Wingate – approx. 20 minutes)

Click here for the website.
2351 W. Roosevelt Blvd. (across from Wal-Mart) Monroe, N.C. 28110
(704) 283-9600

Best Western Inn & Suites (8 miles from Wingate – approx. 20 minutes)

Click here for the website.
2316 Hanover Drive (across from Wal-Mart) Monroe, N.C. 28110
(704) 283-4746

Hampton Inn (9 miles from Wingate – approx. 20 minutes)

Click here for the website.
2368 Roland Drive (across from Chick-fil-A) Monroe, N.C. 28110
(704) 220-2200

Quality Inn & Suites (17 miles from Wingate – approx. 35 minutes)

Click here for the website.
13470 E. Independence Blvd. (Hwy. 74 near Cracker Barrel) Matthews, N.C. 28105
(704)821-9800

Courtyard by Marriott (18 miles from Wingate - approx. 35 minutes)

Click here for the website.
11425 E. Independence Blvd. (Hwy. 74 near Pizza Hut and I-485) Matthews, N.C. 28105
(704)846-4466

Hours & Amenities

Wingate Outfitters

Friday, May 16 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 17 from 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Starbucks

Friday, May 16 from 7 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 17 from 7 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Chartwells will sell breakfast items from 7:30 - 10 a.m. both days. Click here for the menu.

(no other retail locations are open)

Spring Commencement

Graduate Ceremony Friday, May 16, 2025 9 a.m. Academic Quad

Undergraduate Ceremony Saturday, May 17, 2025 9 a.m. Academic Quad

Hours & Amenities

Graduate Ceremony
Friday, May 16, 2025
9 a.m.
Academic Quad

Undergraduate Ceremony
Saturday, May 17, 2025
9 a.m.
Academic Quad