Commencement

When Joleen Parks graduates on Saturday in the first class to complete Elon Law's new 2.5-year program, it will be her next chapter in a life radically changed five years ago in the skies over North Carolina.

Students in the Class of December 2017 will celebrate the completion of their legal education with a ceremony highlighted by remarks from Chief Justice Mark Martin of the Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Bestowed at Commencement, the David Gergen Award for Leadership & Professionalism recognizes graduating students in each class who embody the highest levels of selfless leadership and service.

Students in the Class of May 2017 received their degrees in an Alumni Gym ceremony highlighted by remarks from Robert J. Grey Jr., a former president of the American Bar Association who implored the group to "guard against injustice." 

Graduation has been moved indoors to Alumni Gym due to the threat of afternoon rain and storms.

On the eve of Commencement, students in the Class of May 2017 and their families gathered in the Elon Law library to recognize outstanding academic performance, pro bono work, and service to the law school. 

Elon's four Commencement ceremonies this week will be streamed live online. 

Virginia attorney Robert J. Grey Jr. will offer wisdom to graduates on May 20, 2017, in Elon Law’s final springtime Commencement as the school fully transitions to its new 2.5-year curriculum.

In his Commencement address to Elon University School of Law’s Class of 2016, Judge Albert Diaz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit encouraged graduates to use their legal education to help "reason, law, and precedent triumph over might, caprice, and whim."

Graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2016 will take place inside Alumni Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday, May 21.