By Lytle Wurtzel
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
"We all come together for graduation," explained Paul Rood, superintendent of renovations for facilities management.
But Rood was not referring to the thousands of graduates and their guests that will fill the Lawn tomorrow for Final Exercises - he was referring to the hundreds of workers who come together to make it happen.
Beginning Monday, May 13, approximately 150 workers began setting up the 36,500 chairs ordered for graduation weekend. 12,000 chairs came from North Carolina, with the remaining chairs coming from Washington, D.C.
"We don't want to put all our eggs in one basket," Rood said. "No single agency can support such a large order of chairs anyway, but we definitely want to be covered. If one company can't fulfill the order, we are able to add some chairs to an existing order."
Facilities management places nearly 20,000 chairs on the Lawn for Final Exercises and scatters the remaining chairs throughout the 50 diploma sites.
These diploma sites, also called "satellite sites," include the Law School, Darden School, Medical School, Education School and Engineering School.
"These sites are work-order type situations," Rood said. "They each call for a certain amount of tables, table cloths, PA systems and stages."
In addition to the main PA system on the Lawn, the various diploma sites require 25 PA systems. They also call for nearly 30 to 40 tables with table cloths for various banquets, as well as 18 stages. The stages are taken down each year and stored until the next graduation, but workers must reconstruct them, as well as repaint and repair them. The main stage on the Lawn was erected on Monday, followed by the awning on Tuesday. As the awning goes up over the main stage, other workers place lines down the Lawn to outline the rows of chairs.
"We line the center row according to the crack in the door on the Rotunda and the crack in the door on Old Cabell Hall, which mark the very center of the Lawn," Rood explained. "We run strings down the Lawn to frame our site."
The graduates are seated in 7,000 chairs in the lower tier, with their guests seated in approximately 12,500 seats in the upper tiers. The upper tiers are roped off and require each guest to present a ticket for entrance. Guests may arrive as early as 7:30 a.m. on the day of graduation to be seated, though students often camp out the night before to reserve good seats for their parents.
In order to provide access for all guests to the upper seating tiers, facilities management constructs handicap ramps that run up and down the Lawn.
Despite the tremendous time and effort involved in planning Final Exercises, Rood considers it the happiest day of the year.
"This our job, and the workmen take great pride in it," he said. "It's a festive occasion, and everyone is so happy - it's really a big party."
Read More
A song lyric became my best piece of advice
By Emily Barrie | 2 days agoToo often, people — including myself — get so attached to the idea of "forever" that we miss the value of short-term experiences.
At Emmy Squared, Detroit-style pizza is upstaged by star handhelds and sides
By Xander Tilock | 6 days agoEmmy Squared is a Brooklyn-based restaurant that serves Detroit-style pizza and recently expanded into Charlottesville.
Sustainability in the lecture hall and beyond
By Ingrid Gay | May 6, 2025Students in all three of these programs stress that now, more than ever, it is important to be learning about our environment.
