Spring 2023 Commencement
The Smith School's commencement ceremonies are on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at the XFINITY center. The undergraduate ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. and the graduate ceremony will begin at 12:30 p.m.
Commencement Speakers
Undergraduate Speaker
Robert G. Hisaoka
Robert G. Hisaoka ’79 is the chairman and CEO of RGH Capital and the founder and event chairman of the Joan Hisaoka “Make A Difference” Gala Assisting Those Living with Cancer. He is also the chairman of the Inova Health Foundation. Hisaoka began his career as a CPA at a large local public accounting firm. He is now a partner in a group of automotive dealerships and related entities, as well as an investor and a member of the boards of numerous startups and disruptive companies. In 2013, Hisaoka was named the Robert H. Smith School of Business Alumnus of the Year and received the Inova Health System’s Building Our Legacy in Cancer Award. From 2017 to 2020, he funded and chaired the school’s Robert G. Hisaoka Speaker Series. He also previously chaired and funded the Dingman Center for Entrepreurship’s Pitch Dingman Competition for student entrepreneurs.
Hisaoka was recently honored as one of the first alumni to be inducted into the Robert H. Smith School of Business Hall of Fame, in recognition of his outstanding career of extraordinary achievement and leadership in the community.
Graduate Speaker
Vishal Khera
Vishal Khera, MBA '00, was the co-founder and the President of Creative Systems and Consulting, a leading Digital Transformation services firm. He is an entrepreneur who led a Federal Consulting business helping several large U.S. federal agencies digitally transform their mission critical systems. In his role, he was responsible for overall business strategy, growth, and innovation at Creative. Under his leadership, Creative was consistently ranked in the Inc5000 fastest growing private companies from 2014 to 2020. Creative was acquired by a publicly traded global management consulting firm in Dec 2021.
He is a technologist at heart and has recently founded Khera Ventures to invest in, and assist entrepreneurs seeking to bring enterprise software and advanced technology products to market. His goal is to help the next generation of entrepreneurs with their respective experiences and overcome the challenges of bringing new products to market.
Prior to founding Creative, he was the Chief Architect at Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond where he led IT strategy and new technology introduction programs. He also spent 8+ years as an IT strategy consultant for Gartner, one of the world’s leading management and IT strategy consulting firms.
Khera serves on the Smith School's Board of Advisors.
Virtual Swag
Tickets
Campus Ceremony
Tickets are required for all graduates and their guests. More information can be found on the UMD Commencement website.
Smith School
Tickets are not required for the Smith School ceremonies in Xfinity Center on Wednesday, May 24. The undergraduate ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. and the graduate ceremony will begin at 12:30 p.m.
Location and Parking
Commencement will be held at the XFINITY Center on campus. General guest parking is in lots 4, 6, 9 and 11. Anyone with an ADA permit or otherwise needing accessible parking should park on the 2nd floor of Terrapin Trail Garage. Drivers should go in through the middle entrance of the garage.
View directions for:
Please note that some items are prohibited in the XFINITY center. A few examples include balloons, noisemakers, strollers and backpacks. More information on prohibited items can be found here.
Accessibility
Those with limited mobility should park in Terrapin Trail garage. Wheelchair seating will be available at the top of section 120. There will be Xfinity staff near the garage entrance to help direct people who need help finding section 120.
Those who need the ASL interpreter should sit in the first few rows of section 114. Xfinity staff will reserve the first three rows for those who need this service.
Regalia Information
Academic regalia are the traditional dress for degree candidates participating in college, school and department convocations, as well as the university-wide commencement ceremony.
On Campus
University Book Center
Academic regalia is available for purchase from the University Book Center (UBC). The UBC will continue to provide regalia services up until commencement. Gown sizing and hood colors may be limited after April 20. Along with full regalia packages, the UBC will stock individual pieces, including the tassel, stole, and hood.
Contact Us
Office of Smith Programs & Events
4570 Van Munching Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
smithcommencement@umd.edu