Commencement

Event Information

Commencement will take place on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 10 AM in the Marriott Center. Elder D. Todd Christofferson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is scheduled to be the presiding authority and speaker.

Rev. Dr. Andrew Teal will be the honorary degree recipient.

BYU president Kevin J Worthen will conduct the exercises, which will be held in person and broadcast live on BYUtv from the Marriott Center. All college convocations will be held April 27–28. Individual colleges will communicate their respective details about convocations.

All guests will need a ticket to attend the commencement ceremonies (see below for all ticket information). The Marriott Center has adopted a NO BAG policy. Exception: small clutch bags, no larger than 5" x 8" x 1", with or without a handle or strap can be taken into the arena; medically necessary items or diaper bags will also be permitted after inspection. The event is expected to end by 11:30 AM.

Graduates and faculty should plan on arriving at 8:45 AM to line up for the procession into the Marriott Center. Graduates should line up on the north side of the ASB, in the parking lots, and will be organized by college (i.e., College of Engineering, School of Education, School of Business, etc.) by 9:00 AM. Faculty should line up on the East or West of the ASB according to their college. The procession of faculty and graduates begins at 9:15 AM.

All graduates must have a cap and gown in order to participate in graduation. Visit the BYU Alumni site for ordering options.

Ticket Information

Guest tickets for April 2023 commencement are now available. Each graduate may request up to three tickets. Graduates will not personally need a ticket for commencement. The ticket portal will close on Monday, April 24th at 5pm.

Request tickets for April 2023 commencement here.

About the Speaker

Elder D. Todd Christofferson was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in April 2008. At the time of his call, he was serving in the Presidency of the Seventy. During his tenure in the Presidency of the Seventy, he had supervisory responsibility for the North America West, Northwest, and Southeast Areas of the Church. He also served as executive director of the Family and Church History Department. Earlier he was president of the Mexico South Area of the Church.

Born in American Fork, Utah, Elder Christofferson graduated from high school in New Jersey. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, where he was an Edwin S. Hinckley Scholar. He received his law degree from Duke University, where he was a member of the Duke Law Journal editorial board.

Prior to his call to serve as a full-time General Authority, Elder Christofferson was associate general counsel of NationsBank Corporation (now Bank of America) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Previously he was senior vice president and general counsel for Commerce Union Bank of Tennessee in Nashville, where he was also active in community affairs and interfaith organizations. From 1975 to 1980, Elder Christofferson practiced law in Washington, D.C., after serving as a law clerk to U.S. district judge John J. Sirica (1972–74).

Elder Christofferson and his wife, Katherine Jacob Christofferson, are the parents of five children.

Honorary Degree Recipient

Rev. Dr. Andrew Teal will receive the honorary doctorate degree. He is the Chaplain and Fellow of Pembroke College and lecturer in Theology and Religion at Oxford University. He is the Warden of the Community of the Sisters of the Love of God, the largest Anglican convent and Religious Order in England. He was ordained in the Church of England at the age of 23 in 1988 and worked as a parish priest in deprived inner-city communities in the West Midlands and Sheffield. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Birmingham, and also holds degrees from Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University.

Rev. Dr. Teal has widely published in the U.K. and Europe in English and Russian on patristic and modern theology, art and dialogue. Among his recent publications is “Inspiring Service: Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, and Latter-day Saint Traditions in Dialogue” published in 2020, in which he collaborated with various religious leaders, including Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Rev. Dr. Teal joined the BYU Neal A. Maxwell Institute during the fall 2021 semester as a visiting resident scholar and affiliate faculty member.

His personal mission is, in his own words, “to encourage each person to inhabit their life and faith with integrity, openness and joy.” He feels a personal solidarity with those with the least resources or choices, and desires to nurture the finest minds to direct their achievements to service.

Reverend Dr. Teal and his wife Rachel Teal have been married for 30 years and are the parents of two children, Chiara and Luke.

Currently, Rev. Dr. Teal’s priorities include working to invite wide participation in theological exploration and is supported in this very significantly by the Oxford Wards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is collaborating with many in British Government to promote the Freedom of Religion and Belief, and Rev. Dr. Teal’s work with Elder Holland and other religious leaders aims to build a community of faith understanding and service across nations and communities. He related that Elder Holland has changed the way he views life because of his “authentic, overflowing love.”

Shuttle Information

See commencement shuttle information here.

Broadcast Information

Commencement exercises will be broadcast live on BYUtv, BYU Radio, Classical 89 KBYU-FM and byutv.org.

The BYU Commencement is typically available to stream afterwards on the BYUtv app and website (byutv.org) for about a month. Viewers will need to create and sign in to their free BYUtv account in order to watch it. If you have trouble signing in, you can contact BYUtv customer service. The email is byutv@byu.edu and the number is 1-(866)-662-9888.

Convocation Information

See the Convocations website for time and date for your college or school convocation.