COMMENCEMENT SCHEDULE
CEREMONY
Date: Friday, May 9, 2025
Time: 12:00am. Doors open at 11:00am
Tickets will be required
Live Stream: Follow the ceremony live via the school's Facebook page.
Location:
Hill Auditorium
825 N. University Ave
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
SPEAKER
Janet H. Southerland, DDS, MPH, PhD
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
in New Orleans
As the Chief Academic Officer at the LSU Health Sciences Center, Dr. Janet H.
Southerland oversees the operations of three major areas – Academic Affairs, Research and
Student Affairs. She leads program and curriculum changes and insures the center’s compliance
with state, federal and university regulations.
Dr. Southerland is an experienced clinician, educator, administrator, researcher and
interprofessional and collaborative trailblazer. She has led efforts at multiple institutions to
transform the academic health sciences enterprise through active engagement with faculty,
students and staff.
Dr. Southerland holds a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree, an MPH in Health Policy and
Administration, and a PhD in Oral Biology, all from the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. She has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Health Resources and Services
Administration, the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation. She has led transdisciplinary research and clinical teams, and has served with
numerous national, regional, and state professional, accreditation, editorial, and advisory
organizations. She has authored and contributed numerous book chapters related to inclusivity,
belonging and mentoring in dentistry, education and other areas of healthcare.
Prior to joining the LSU Health Sciences Center, Dr. Southerland was Vice President for
Interprofessional Education, Institutional Effectiveness and Health Education at the University of
Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. She was also a professor in the Department of
Nutrition Metabolism and Rehabilitative Sciences and a clinical assistant professor in the
Department of Surgery, Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
From 2011-17, Dr. Southerland was a professor in the Department Oral and Maxillofacial
Surgery at the Meharry School of Dentistry in Nashville, Tennessee. From 2011-13, she was
Dean of the school, later serving as Chair of the Institutional Review Board and a Co-
Investigator of the NIH-funded Meharry Translational Research Center.
Earlier in her career, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry, she
held numerous leadership positions, including Chair of Hospital Dentistry, Chief of Oral
Medicine, and Director of the Hospital Dental Clinic.
TICKETS
Per updated University guidelines, tickets will be required for the ceremony.
To attend the commencement ceremony, guests should contact their graduate to obtain tickets. Tickets are free and available to all graduates.
Please note the list of prohibited items for the commencement ceremony.
ACCESSIBILITY
Handicapped Access: East and West side entrances of the auditorium are appropriate for guests using wheelchairs. Please refer to the Hill Auditorium Seating Chart to locate designated handicapped seating areas (boxes A-G on the main floor).
Assistive Listening Devices: Hill Auditorium is equipped with assistive listening devices. Earphones may be obtained upon arrival. Please ask an usher for assistance.
RECEPTION
Time: Immediately following ceremony
Location:
Michigan League Ballroom, Concourse, Hussey Room and Vandenberg Room
Michigan League
911 N University Ave,
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Accessibility: The reception in the Ballroom is on the second floor in the Michigan League. There is one elevator available at the Michigan League.
HOTELS & DINING
For information on area hotels and restaurants, visit the Ann Arbor Convention and Visitors Bureau or call 800-888-9487.
Guests who are unable to reserve hotel rooms in the Ann Arbor area may wish to look for hotel rooms in Brighton, Jackson, Plymouth, Ypsilanti, or the vicinity of Detroit Metropolitan Airport. These communities are less than one hour's drive from Ann Arbor.
PARKING
The gates to all the parking structures on Central Campus will open on Friday (see detail below) and remain open throughout the weekend. Parking enforcement in these structures will be suspended until the end of enforcement hours on Sunday.
- Palmer-Blue Area, Fletcher, Thayer: gates open Friday 9:00 a.m. through Sunday
- Thompson, Hill, Church: gates open: Friday 9:30 a.m. through Sunday
Note: The Fletcher Street Parking Structure is normally reserved for patient and employee parking. Parking is available in employee parking only. Please use the entrance off Palmer Drive. If you enter the structure via the UP Ramp at the Fletcher Street entrance (patient parking) you will be charged $25.00 when you exit the structure.
Go to Directions and Parking for more information.