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Details about University Park's Commencement including date, time, location, speakers, livestream, and more.
2026 Commencement Details
Friday, May 15, 2026, 3:00 p.m. Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park Campus, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
The University Park commencement ceremony begins promptly at 3:00 p.m. and will last approximately 2 hours
Doors will open for guests at 1:30 p.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
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
Brandon Biegenzahn
Brandon Biegenzahn is the President of McDermott + Bull Executive Search, one of the largest executive search firms within the Hunt Scanlon Top 50 Recruiters list, as well as one of Forbes’ “Best Executive Recruiting Firms.” McDermott + Bull is a full-service retained executive search firm serving businesses throughout North America and Europe to identify and recruit executives for permanent and interim roles.
The firm serves clients throughout the entire corporate life cycle through consultative advisory services that include:
Brandon holds dual roles as President of the firm and Chair of the Financial Services Practice Group. As President of McDermott + Bull, Brandon leads the market-facing side of the business, including the strategic buildout of the firm’s team of Managing Directors. As chair of the firm’s Financial Services Practice Group, he is a partner to an array of financial services firms including community and regional commercial banks, private banks, investment banks, credit unions, investment managers, and fintech companies. His clients include the likes of Guggenheim Partners, Green Dot, Houlihan Lokey, Columbia Bank, Moelis & Company, Envestnet and Farmers & Merchants Bank..
Brandon is a corporate attorney by trade having practiced with Sheppard Mullin, and Buchalter in their corporate finance departments. As corporate counsel, he advised his clients in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, asset-based financing, and real property purchase and sale transactions.
In addition to his work at McDermott + Bull, Brandon is a frequent guest lecturer on the topics of leadership and career development at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business’ Executive MBA program, and at Penn State Dickinson Law. He is a member of the California Coast Chapter of YPO. And he currently sits on the Mission Hospital Foundation Board of Directors, and Penn State Dickinson Law’s Leadership Council Advisory Board.
Brandon received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southern California and his Juris Doctorate from Penn State Dickinson Law. He lives in Coto de Caza, California with his wife, Alexa, and their sons, Bowen and Beckett
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: Jenna Hidalgo
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 15 at 3:00 p.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.
Signs and Auxiliary Parking Officers will direct and assist students and guests with their arrival. Please be courteous to the Auxiliary Parking Officers and trust that they are guiding you to the closest available parking for the event.
As this event takes place on a weekday during daytime hours, parking may be limited. Please plan accordingly and allow extra time, as you may need to walk one to two blocks to Eisenhower Auditorium.
ADA Parking—For an ADA access map of campus, visit the ADA Access Interactive Map. Parking in these lots is available on a first-come, first-served basis. A valid, state-issued ADA placard or license plate is required for ADA parking.
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 Eisenhower Auditorium has a house wheelchair that can be used to assist guests upon arrival to the drop-off area to the seating area in the orchestra portion of the auditorium. Guest drop-off is available at the front of the auditorium. If members of your party require accommodations or additional assistance, please contact Kelly Kaiserian 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.
