Date: Saturday, May 16, 2026
Ceremony Location: Lincoln Hall Theatre-702 S. Wright Street, Urbana
Line-up: 1092 Lincoln Hall
Time: 3 pm
Graduation is approaching fast, and we are incredibly proud of our spring 2026 graduating class! The LER Convocation ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at Lincoln Hall Theatre at 3 pm. Graduates will line up in room 1092 prior to the ceremony. A reception will immediately follow at the School of Labor and Employment Relations.
Convocation Speaker – David Schmidt, AM 92
David Schmit is currently the owner of Lakeside Human Capital LLC, providing human resources consulting to private and public companies. He started LHC to leverage his years of experience to help organizations and leaders be more successful through improved human capital processes.
Prior to founding LHC, David served as CHRO at Astec Industries, where he led the implementation of the first enterprise global HRIS system. Before then, he was VPHR at Dover Corporation, with global HR responsibility for a $4 billion segment. There, David was part of a four-person executive team that led a doubling of revenue, including 13 successful acquisitions, evaluating strategic and operational fit, managing due diligence, and overseeing integration planning and execution.
Ceremony
The Dean of the School, Simon Restubog, will open the ceremony with remarks to the graduates. Dave Schmidt, AM 92, will follow as our spring Convocation speaker.
Following Dave will be student remarks, the presentation of the LER Faculty Teaching Excellence Award/Walt Franke Student Development Opportunity Fund, and we will finish off with the presentation of candidates.
The universitywide Commencement Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 9:30 am in Gies Memorial Stadium.
Live streaming
For friends and family who cannot attend the ceremony, we will provide a live-streaming URL. This will start around 2:30 pm CST and will go until the end of the ceremony. More information will be given once the URL has been updated.
Regalia
Academic regalia is required to attend the ceremony. The deadline to order academic attire on the Herff Jones website and receive early-order pricing for the May ceremonies is Monday, April 13, at 10:59 pm CST.
Graduates must RSVP for the ceremony by Monday, April 13, 2026.