Pre-Graduation Reception
Friday, May 16, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.
UGA Tate Student Center, Grand Hall
45 Baxter Street, Athens, Georgia
Business Cocktail Attire
The deadline to register is Monday, May 5, 2025.
The Law School will host a reception honoring the members of the Class of 2025 on Friday evening, May 16, 2025. Complimentary, non-transferable admission is provided for each graduate and one guest. Additional admissions may be purchased for $10 each. Please register below:
Name tags will serve as admission tickets and may be picked up at the registration table located at the entrance to the reception. All nametags will be held in a packet under the graduate's name.
Parking in the Tate Student Center's parking deck is complimentary for guests attending the reception.
Questions? Please contact Lisa Mathis at lcmathis@uga.edu
Class of 2025 Commencement
Saturday, May 17, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.
The Classic Center Grand Hall
300 N. Thomas Street, Athens, Georgia
Doors open at 9:00 a.m. // Ceremony begins at 10:00 a.m.
Students should enter the Classic Center at 8:30 through the Atrium doors on the first floor and proceed up the stairs to the check-in tables in Grand Hall 2.
Tickets are not required for the ceremony, and there is no limit to the number of guests.
If you or your guests need wheelchair seating accommodations, contact lcmathis@uga.edu. Wheelchair seating is limited. Please note that The Classic Center does not provide wheelchairs on-site.
LIVE STREAM
GRADUATE SLIDESHOW
As part of our celebration, the School of Law will organize a slideshow with images of your class. Share your favorite law school memories by emailing photos for possible inclusion to lawcomm@uga.edu with “grad photos” as the subject. The deadline to submit photos is Friday, May 2, 2025. Images for the graduation slideshow should be in jpg format. Image resolution of photos taken with digital cameras and most smartphones will generally be high enough for inclusion. If you do not receive acknowledgment of your photo(s), you should resend.
Note: Each year we receive so many great photos that the law school would like to have permission to possibly use them in other projects, including but not limited to social media posts, admissions/promotional materials and website imagery. By submitting your photos, you agree that they may be used outside of the slideshow.
REGALIA
Thanks to generous donations from alumni, the School of Law will pay for the rental cost of your graduation regalia this year. We are working with the bookstore to facilitate ordering and to save you a trip there to order your regalia.
To order your rental regalia, simply complete THIS FORM. Instructions on sizing are on the form. Note: this form is only for those wishing to rent regalia, which will need to be returned to the UGA Bookstore after graduation.
If you wish to purchase regalia, do NOT complete the form linked above. Instead, please contact Kenny Diegel (k.diegel@follett.com) at the University Bookstore to place your order and for any other questions you may have about purchasing regalia.
DEADLINE TO ORDER RENTAL REGALIA IS SUNDAY, MARCH 17TH. The bookstore cannot guarantee timely delivery of regalia ordered after this date.
COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
Judge R. Stan Baker is the Chief United States District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia. Prior to his appointment as a District Judge, Chief Judge Baker served the Southern District of Georgia as a United States Magistrate Judge. During his time on the bench, Judge Baker has served as President of the Eleventh Circuit District Judges Association and on several judicial associations including the Judicial Council of the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Judicial Conference’s Committee on the Administration of the Magistrate Judges System. Before joining the federal bench, Judge Baker practiced as a civil and criminal litigation attorney at The Jordan Firm on St. Simons Island, Georgia, and at Prior, Daniel, and Wiltshire in Athens, Georgia. At the beginning of his legal career, Judge Baker served as a judicial law clerk to District Judge William T. Moore, Jr., in the Southern District of Georgia.
Judge Baker received his undergraduate degree from Davidson College where he served as captain of the varsity track and field team, played on the varsity football team, and led many campus organizations. Judge Baker then graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law where he was active in the school’s moot court and mock trial programs and was selected for the Order of the Barristers. Judge Baker is a native of Athens, and he lives in Savannah, with his wife Crystal, who is also a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, and their two daughters, Anna Beth and Bella Grace.
SEATING
Guests may sit in any open seats in Classic Center Grand Halls 7 or 8. There is no assigned guest seating.
If you or your guests need wheelchair seating accommodations, contact lcmathis@uga.edu. Wheelchair seating is limited. Please note that The Classic Center does not provide wheelchairs on-site.
PARKING
Graduates and guests may park in either The Classic Center Parking Deck (there is a charge for this location) located at 300 N. Thomas Street or the North Campus Parking Deck (Free) located at 231 S. Jackson Street. Please allow ample time for parking. The Classic Center Parking Deck is adjacent to the venue but there will be a large number of vehicles accessing the gated deck. The North Campus Parking Deck is approximately a 10-minute walk (0.3 miles) from the Classic Center. Disability parking is available in all parking decks and lots surrounding the Classic Center for those with ADA parking permits/placards.
HOTELS
The School of Law has secured a limited number of hotel rooms at the Athens Holiday Inn Express and Springhill Suites Athens West location (located off Highway 316). Room blocks are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The room block will be available until April 15, 2025 or until the inventory is accounted for within the block. The booking links are listed below:
We encourage guests to make hotel reservations as soon as possible. Please visit HERE to see a full listing of hotel in the area.
LEAVING THE CEREMONY
After the ceremony, graduates will recess out of the Grand Hall through the first floor doors. We encourage guests and graduates to predetermine a meeting location and take advantage of photo opportunities outside the Classic Center. There will be no re-entry once a graduate or guest has exited the Classic Center.
STAY CONNECTED
Upon graduating, you automatically become a member of the School of Law's graduate network, which is approximately 11,400 Law Dawgs strong. You will also receive information at the end of the semester regarding registration for the Law School Mentorship Program. We hope you will consider signing up to be a Professional Mentor to a future law student.
You should receive an email from EITS notifying you that your MyID and UGAMail accounts will be disabled in May 2025. Be sure to stay connected to the law school by visiting our alumni website at www.law.uga.edu/alumni and by sending an updated (non-UGA) email address to lawalum@uga.edu.
If you have any questions on how to stay engaged and/or financially support the law school, contact Lisa C. Mathis, Associate Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations at lcmathis@uga.edu or 706-542-5075.