May 06, 2026

Media advisory: Coverage of SIU Carbondale commencement ceremonies

Reporters, photographers and news crews are invited to cover one or more of Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s commencement ceremonies May 8-9, celebrating the academic achievements of nearly 2,100 spring semester 2026 graduates. 

There are three separate ceremonies. The SIU School of Law commencement is Friday, May 8, at Shryock Auditorium. On Saturday, May 9, Banterra Center will hold two commencement ceremonies. 

The commencement schedule, along with honorary degree and Distinguished Service Award recipients are: 

Friday, May 8 

  • 1 p.m. — SIU Simmons School of Law. J. Phil Gilbert, senior judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois and SIU System Board of Trustee chair, is the keynote speaker. 

Saturday, May 9 

  • 9 a.m. — College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences; College of Arts and Media; College of Business and Analytics, College of Liberal Arts, and the School of Education. 

J. Phil Gilbert will receive an honorary Doctor of Law in association with the SIU Simmons Law School; Michael “Mike” Glenn, two-time Academic All-American and Saluki basketball and NBA standout will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in association with the College of Liberal Arts; and Cheryl F. Green, a double SIU Carbondale alumna and former president of Governor’s State University, will receive a posthumous Distinguished Service Award in association with the School of Education. 

  • 1 p.m. — College of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Mathematics; College of Health and Human Sciences, and the School of Medicine (SOM Ph.D. and master’s degrees only). 

James J. Miller, a three-degree SIU alumnus, a former Deputy Director in NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program, and founding director of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree in association with the College of Health and Human Sciences; Russell Franklin Bartmes, a distinguished leader in finance and philanthropy whose support helped launch SIU Carbondale’s nursing program and other initiatives will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in association with the College of Health and Human Sciences, and Kathleen Pericak-Spector, a retired professor of mathematics, who spent more than four decades at SIU advancing mathematics education, will receive a Distinguished Service Award in association with the College of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Mathematics.   

For more information, read press releases about the honorary degree and Distinguished Service Award recipients. 

The 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. commencement ceremonies on May 9 will be livestreamed. 

If you are interested in covering any of the ceremonies, please contact Pete Rosenbery, assistant director, University Communications and Marketing, by 4 p.m. Friday, May 8, (by 9 a.m. if covering the law school commencement) at 618-453-1439 or prosen@siu.edu. The on-site contact Friday will be Payton Van Hoy, marketing associate, SIU Simmons Law School, 618-453-8263. On Saturday, for the 9 a.m. ceremony, Jeff Harmon, SIU Carbondale chief communications and marketing officer, 573-352-0035 (cell), and for the 1 p.m. Saturday ceremony, Brooke Keltner, University Communications and Marketing public information associate, 618-453-6120.