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Details about Carlisle's Commencement including date, time, location, speakers, livestream, and more.
2026 Commencement Details
Saturday, May 16, 2026 , 10:30 AM The Forum Auditorium, 500 Walnut Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101
The ceremony begins promptly at 10:30 a.m. and will last approximately 2 hours
Doors will open for guests at 9:00 a.m. Guests may sit anywhere except those seats marked as reserved, as well as student and VIP guest seating
Guests are not permitted in the backstage area pre-ceremony
Balloons are strictly prohibited from the venue
Food and drink, except bottled water, not permitted in venue
Commencement livestream will be available
For additional Commencement details (including information on parking, lodging, accessibility, and more), please see details below
Noreen M. Tama
Noreen M. Tama is the General Counsel of All Sober, Public Benefit Corporation, a startup technology company dedicated to expanding access to recovery resources, reducing the stigma of addiction, and supporting individuals and families on the path to sober living. As the company’s chief legal officer, she advises senior leadership and the Board of Directors on complex transactions, corporate governance, private equity and investment matters, and strategic initiatives that advance both business objectives and meaningful social impact.
Ms. Tama began her legal career at VanNess, Feldman in Washington, D.C., practicing international, energy, and natural resources law. She then moved in-house where she served as General Counsel for ICI, Corp. She spent nearly twenty-five years with Mobil Oil and Exxon Mobil Corporation, where she advised on high-stakes commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory matters related to the supply, trading, distribution, and marketing of crude oil and refined petroleum products across global markets. Drawing on this experience, she has built a career grounded in navigating complexity, exercising sound judgment, and aligning legal strategy with real-world outcomes.
A strong advocate for service, Ms. Tama has devoted significant time to pro bono work supporting women, victims of domestic violence, and underserved communities. She established the Noreen Tama Scholarship for Juvenile Justice at Penn State Dickinson Law to support students committed to serving underrepresented youth, and she continues to mentor and support emerging lawyers. She is a recipient of the Sylvia H. Rambo Award and serves on the law school’s Leadership Council Advisory Board.
Ms. Tama holds an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center and is a 1986 graduate of Penn State Dickinson Law. She resides in Alexandria, Virginia, and remains committed to using the law as a tool for impact, service, and lasting change.
The Office of Academic and Student Services is pleased to announce that the following students have been selected by their peers to speak at this year's Commencement activities:
2026 Lee Popp Award winner and Graduating Student Awards Ceremony Speaker: Kristen Slubowski
All graduating students are required to wear official commencement regalia through the University’s approved vendor, Jostens, in order to participate in the Commencement ceremony. Regalia serves as official academic attire and is necessary to ensure uniformity and adherence to ceremonial standards. The deadline to order regalia is March 20, 2026. All orders must be placed online through Josten’s.
This event will be livestreamed, and the link will be available online before the ceremony’s start on May 16 at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony will be livestreamed in English. When viewing the post-event recording available through YouTube, you will have the option of selecting from a list of available languages by clicking on settings, next selecting captions and auto translate, then selecting a language. Please be aware that the list of available languages is shorter on the mobile version than on the desktop version.
The 5th street garage is offering a $10 event rate for our guests. Payment through the Metropolis platform provides service for parking payments. The 5th street garage has two entrances: 5th Street and Aberdeen Street.
Photographers from GradImages will photograph students as they individually approach, cross, and exit the stage. Following graduation, GradImages will contact students via email with an offer for a free 5” x 7” photo and the opportunity to purchase additional photos. If you need more information concerning photography by GradImages, please visit their website.
Personal video and photography is permitted; however, for the safety and comfort of all guests, everyone must remain in their seats during the ceremony.
Through the student submission of the Commencement Information Form, the Law School collects information on guests who may require additional assistance or accommodations for attendance to the Commencement ceremony (e.g.: wheelchair-accessible seating, sign language interpretation, etc.). The venue has designated (but limited) areas for accessible seating that will be reserved for guests requiring accommodations, and for those guests requiring additional assistance that we are notified of ahead of time. The university does not provide, loan, or rent wheelchairs. Guests can be dropped off at the front of the Forum Auditorium, with the driver required to find on-street or nearby garage parking. If members of your party require accommodations or additional assistance, please contact Kalene Faircloth for additional information.
If you would like to invite international guests to attend Commencement, please provide them with the following documents for their visa interview:
A letter of invitation from you (in your language and English) including:
The relationship to you
Purpose of the visit
Dates of the visit
Where the visitor(s) will sleep and eat
Any other important information
Evidence that you can support them during the visit if you are providing room and board (that might include a bank statement or assistantship information, apartment lease, etc.)
Evidence that you are a full-time student by requesting the enrollment verification through LionPATH.
Copy of your I-20 or DS-2019
Visitors need to provide evidence that they intend to return abroad and not remain in the U.S.
Note: Penn State’s International Student and Scholar Advising (ISSA) does not provide letters of invitation for family or friends to visit. The U.S. Department of State has advised that letters from ISSA are not helpful for this purpose.
