ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University will celebrate its 135th Commencement Sunday, May 25, with more than 6,000 graduates receiving degrees at a ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. on Schoellkopf Field. President Hunter Rawlings, who will present the commencement address and confer degrees, will preside over his eighth and final commencement ceremony as Cornell's president. He is retiring from the presidency June 30 and will assume a professorship in the university's Department of Classics.

The commencement ceremony caps two days of celebratory events at Cornell.

On Saturday, May 24, political strategist James Carville will present the Senior Convocation address to graduates, their families and guests at noon in Barton Hall. Also speaking will be senior class president Stephen Harasim and alumni co-presidents Carl Jones Jr. and Nicole Manning.

Carville is a co-host of CNN's political debate program Crossfire . An outspoken political strategist and commentator, he served as senior political adviser to President Bill Clinton, whom he is credited with helping to elect. Other successful political campaigns he ran include the 1991 Senate victory of Harris Wofford in Pennsylvania, the 1990 gubernatorial victories of Georgia's Zell Miller and Pennsylvania's Robert P. Casey, and the 1998 re-election of Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey. In 1997, Carville co-founded the international consulting firm of Gould Greenberg Carville NOP.

His books include Buck Up, Suck Up ... and Come Back When You Foul Up with Paul Begala and We're Right, They're Wrong: A Handbook for Spirited Progressives .

Other commencement weekend events include:

Saturday, May 24:

o Phi Beta Kappa Induction: New members of the Cornell chapter will be inducted at 10 a.m. in room G-1 Uris Hall.o ROTC Commissioning: The Reserve Officer Training Corps Brigade of Cornell will commission officers into the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force at a ceremony in David Call Auditorium, Kennedy Hall, at 2 p.m.

o D.V.M. Hooding Ceremony: Dr. Susan R. McLellan, president of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society, will administer the Veterinarian's Oath to new Doctors of Veterinary Medicine at a ceremony at 2 p.m. in Bailey Hall. Dr. Wayne S. Schwark, the 2003 Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teacher, will speak. Awards will be presented to interns and residents.

o President's Parent Reception: President Rawlings and the Cornell Board of Trustees will host a reception for students, their families and guests from 2:30 to 4 p.m. on the Arts Quad. Rawlings will make brief remarks.

o Ph.D. Recognition Ceremony: This special recognition event for Ph.D. and D.M.A. candidates will be held at 5 p.m. in Barton Hall, with a reception following. Families, friends and faculty members are invited to attend.

Other events on Saturday include a concert by the Cornell Wind Ensemble on the Arts Quad at 3 p.m. (rain location is Barton Hall) and the Senior Week Concert in Bailey Hall at 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 25:

o University Baccalaureate Service: The Rev. Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, called "the Dean of African American preachers" by Time magazine, will present the baccalaureate address during an interfaith service at 8:30 a.m. in Bailey Hall.

o Procession: The procession assembles on the Arts Quad at 9:15 a.m. and arrives at Schoellkopf Stadium at 10 a.m.

o Commencement ceremony: The ceremony will be held from 11 a.m. to noon and will be viewable via a live Webcast. To watch commencement live on the Web, go to Cornell's homepage at , where a link will be posted. The ceremony will also be broadcast live on Time-Warner cable television Channel 16 in Tompkins County beginning at 10 a.m. Viewing will be available on campus in Bartels Hall, Kennedy Hall and Martha Van Rensselaer Hall.

In the event of severe weather, the ceremony may be delayed or held in two abbreviated ceremonies in Barton Hall. If the ceremony must be held indoors, there will be two programs:

o At 10:30 a.m., degrees will be conferred on graduates from the colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, the Johnson Graduate School of Management and the Law School.

o At 1 p.m., degrees will be conferred on graduates from the colleges of Architecture, Art and Planning, Engineering, Human Ecology, the Graduate School, and the schools of Hotel Administration and Industrial and Labor Relations.

o College and school ceremonies: Ceremonies and receptions for individual colleges and schools will be held at various locations across campus until 3 p.m.