Nearly 1,000 degrees will be conferred on Tuesday, May 10 to graduates of Indiana University South Bend. The Commencement ceremony will be held at 6 p.m at the Joyce Center on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
Indiana University President Pamela Whitten will preside over the ceremony and IU South Bend Chancellor Susan Elrod will address the graduates. Student Government Association president and 2022 graduate Rana Hamad will give the student address. Graduates from December 2021 and May and August 2022 will be recognized at this ceremony.
The Honorable B. Patrick Bauer will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the ceremony.An Indiana lawmaker for half a century and a distinguished educator, Bauer has helped to transform Indiana University South Bend and has made historic contributions to the life of the state. During his tenure in the Indiana House of Representatives, Bauer rose to the highest levels of leadership. When he concluded his service in 2020, he held the distinction of being the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives. Among other initiatives, he championed legislation for early childhood and K-12 programs, for home health care for seniors, for the HoosierRX prescription drug program, for banning phosphates in detergents, and for creating a state earned income tax credit. In addition to his government service, he spent his career as an English teacher, and then as an administrator in the South Bend Community School Corporation and at Ivy Tech Community College.
Charlotte D. Pfeifer-Gillam, B.A.’76, M.P.A.’81, will receive the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award. A lifelong champion of diversity and equity, Pfeifer-Gillam started her career in corrections and human services. She then founded IU South Bend’s Office of Campus Diversity and was the campus director of student and community relations. From 1995 to 2007, she served as an elected member of the South Bend Common Council. She was the body’s first Black president, eventually serving three terms in that role. After retirement she served as an adjunct appointee in the IU School of Social Work. She’s a recipient of the Michiana Neal-Marshall Distinguished Alumna Award, the NAACP Service Award, the South Bend Equality Human Rights Award, and is a member of the South Bend Hall of Fame.
The ceremony processional starts at 6 p.m. with the program beginning when everyone is seated. A large crowd is expected. No tickets are required. Graduates should be at the Field House (enter Gate 3) at the Joyce Center by 4:45 p.m. The doors of the Joyce Center will open for guests at 5 p.m. Guests should enter through Gate 9.
Graduates will be presented with an Indiana University diploma cover at the ceremony. Diplomas will be available approximately 6-8 weeks after students have been certified for graduation. Graduates will receive a notification from the Registrar when their diplomas are available for pick-up. Students must bring a photo ID to pick-up their diploma.
The ceremony will be livestreamed front and center on Commencement.iu.edu on May 10. To view afterward, click on the box for IU South Bend Commencement Ceremony.
Congratulations to all IU South Bend graduates!
