By Kristina Goetz
The Cincinnati Enquirer

It's almost cap and gown time at Greater Cincinnati's colleges and universities.

University of Dayton will kick off this year's season at 10 a.m. May 2 at the University of Dayton Arena. The public is welcome to attend the ceremony, during which President Dan Curran will give new graduates a send-off. Tickets are not required.

"It's approaching quickly," said Nick Beck, a UD accounting and finance double major who will walk the line. "It's a stressful two weeks."

Elsewhere in the Tristate:

Art Academy of Cincinnati

Stefan Sagmeister, a designer for the music industry in New York, will address this year's graduates of the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Commencement will be at 7 p.m. May 15 at the Cincinnati Art Museum Auditorium. A ticket is needed to attend the ceremony.

Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary

Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary will have two commencement ceremonies on its campus in Price Hill. The Rev. Dick Alexander, minister of the Clovernook Christian Church, will speak to graduates of the seminary at 7:30 p.m. May 14. The undergraduate ceremony will be at 10 a.m. May 15.

The public is invited to attend both events, and no tickets are required.

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College will have its commencement at 10 a.m. June 19 at the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center. The location was changed because of the expected 17-year cicada invasion.

College of Mount St. Joseph

College of Mount St. Joseph will have two commencement ceremonies May 8 in the Harrington Student Center on the Delhi Township campus to accommodate undergraduate and graduate students and their families. Spencer Crew, CEO and director of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, will speak at 10 a.m., and Laura Pulfer, a community volunteer and former columnist for The Cincinnati Enquirer, will speak at 3 p.m. Commencement is not open to the general public.

Gateway Community and Technical College

Gateway Community and Technical College's commencement will be at 7 p.m. May 20 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. The event is not open to the public.

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion will have its commencement ceremony at 8 p.m. June 3 at Isaac M. Wise Temple in Amberley Village. Ordination will be at 9:30 a.m. June 5 at Plum Street Temple downtown. Speaking at graduation will be Bill T. Arnold, an HUC alumnus and professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages at Asbury Theological Seminary. The ordination speaker will be Jonathan Sarna, the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University.

Both events are open to the public.

Northern Kentucky University

Pending confirmation, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao will address Northern Kentucky University students. No tickets are required to attend the event, which will be at 10 a.m. May 15 at U.S. Bank Arena.

Miami University

Peace activist Jehan Sadat, widow of the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, will speak at Miami University's spring commencement at 3 p.m. May 8 at Yager Stadium.

The public is invited to attend; tickets are not required.

Thomas More College

Thomas More College will host U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., as its commencement speaker at 1:30 p.m. May 15 at the Holbrook Student Center. The public is welcome to attend the event, which will have festival style seating on the lawn outside the Holbrook Student Center.

University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati will have its all-university commencement ceremony at 1:30 p.m. June 11 in the Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center. Tickets are required

Wilmington College

Ambassador Tony Hall will speak to graduates at Wilmington College's commencement at 10:30 a.m. May 9 in Hermann Court on campus.

The three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize is one of the world's leading advocates for hunger relief programs and improving international human rights conditions.

Tickets are required to attend.

Xavier University

Xavier University will have two commencement ceremonies May 15 at the Cintas Center on the college's Evanston campus. One is at 9 a.m. for undergraduates; the other will be at 2 p.m. for graduates. Yaffa Eliach, a professor of history and literature in the department of Judaic Studies at Brooklyn College and founder of the first Center for Holocaust Documentation and Research in the United States, will speak to undergraduates. Ray Suarez, PBS commentator, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, will speak to graduates.

Both ceremonies are open to the public, and tickets are not required.