Cornell President Hunter Rawlings will preside over the university's 130th Commencement on Sunday, May 24, at 11 a.m. on Schoellkopf Field.

Rawlings will confer degrees on more than 6,200 eligible candidates, capping two days of celebratory activities that include a Senior Convocation with an address by television broadcaster and alumnus Keith Olbermann on Saturday, May 23, at noon in Barton Hall.

Approximately 3,800 students are eligible for undergraduate degrees, including 1,023 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 152 in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, 1,113 in the College of Arts and Sciences, 761 in the College of Engineering, 242 in the School of Hotel Administration, 400 in the College of Human Ecology and 200 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Receiving master's and doctoral degrees will be approximately 1,770 candidates from the Graduate School, 238 from the Law School, 271 from the Johnson Graduate School of Management and 83 from the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Commencement weekend events include:

Saturday, May 23:

• Senior Convocation: Broadcaster Keith Olbermann will address graduates and their families at the convocation, held at noon in Barton Hall. Olbermann currently hosts "The Big Show with Keith Olbermann," a news program that airs weeknights on MSNBC. He also is a contributor for NBC Sports and is a member of the NBC News team. Before joining NBC News, Olbermann co-anchored ESPN's "SportsCenter" from 1992 to 1997. Olbermann has received many honors for his work, including a Cable Ace Award in 1995 for Best Sportscaster and 11 Golden Mike Awards (presented by the California Radio and Television News Association) for Best Sportscaster and Best Sportscast between 1985-91. He was voted the California Associated Press Sportscaster of the Year three times (1985, 1987, 1989). Olbermann received a bachelor of science degree in communication arts from Cornell in 1979.
• Also speaking at the Convocation will be Senior Class President Melissa Amernick.
• President's Parent Reception: President Rawlings and the Cornell Board of Trustees will host a reception for degree candidates, their families and guests from 2:30 to 4 p.m. on the Arts Quad.
• D.V.M. Hooding Ceremony: Dean Donald F. Smith will address graduates at the hooding ceremony in Alice Statler Auditorium at 3 p.m. Also speaking will be Robert J. Sofarelli, president-elect of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society; Robert O. Gilbert, associate dean for clinical programs and professional services; and Katherine M. Edmondson, assistant dean for learning and instruction.
• ROTC Commissioning: The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Brigade will commission officers into the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force during a ceremony in David L. Call Alumni Auditorium, Kennedy Hall, at 4 p.m.
• Ph.D. Recognition Ceremony: Recipients of doctoral degrees will be individually recognized for their significant academic achievements in Barton Hall at 5 p.m. Rawlings and Walter I. Cohen, Graduate School dean, will congratulate each recipient. Degrees will be conferred during the general Commencement ceremony on Sunday.
• Other special events for graduates and their families on Saturday include tours of Cornell Plantations from 10 a.m. to noon, a Cornell Wind Ensemble concert on the Arts Quad at 3 p.m. and the Senior Week Concert by the Glee Club and Chorus in Bailey Hall at 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 24:

• Baccalaureate Service: The Very Rev. Robert Giannini, dean of Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) of Indianapolis, will present an address at a baccalaureate service honoring graduating students and retiring faculty at 8:30 a.m. in Bailey Hall.
• Commencement Procession: Thousands of robed graduates, faculty, trustees and administrators will assemble on the Arts Quad at 9:30 a.m. and proceed to Schoellkopf Field. Leading the academic procession will be University Marshal J. Robert Cooke, professor of agricultural and biological engineering, and Mace Bearer John L. Ford, the Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students.
• Commencement Ceremony: The ceremony will take place on Schoellkopf Field from 11 a.m. to noon. After presenting the Commencement address, Rawlings will confer degrees on more than 6,200 eligible candidates, including those who completed degree work last August and January.
• Broadcast: The ceremony will be broadcast live on cable television Channel 54 in Tompkins County beginning at 10 a.m. and on Ithaca radio station WHCU (870 AM) beginning at 11 a.m. The ceremony will be shown on closed-circuit television in Statler Auditorium, the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium in Kennedy Hall, Martha Van Rensselaer Auditorium and Newman Arena in the Field House.

Severe weather: In the event of severe weather, Commencement will be celebrated in two ceremonies in Barton Hall: at 10:30 a.m. for students from Agriculture and Life Sciences, Arts and Sciences, the Johnson Graduate School of Management and Veterinary Medicine, and at 1 p.m. for students from Architecture, Art and Planning, Engineering, Graduate School, Hotel Administration, Human Ecology and Industrial and Labor Relations.

Roads: Central campus roads will be closed on Commencement morning between 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Cornell and Ithaca City Police will direct traffic. Signs directing motorists to parking areas will be posted. The campus buses will be running specific routes from the outer parking areas to the stadium. Additional information will be broadcast on Cornell Info Radio at 530 AM.