Drexel will hold a university-wide commencement at Citizens Bank Park after all

Drexel University will hold a school-wide commencement ceremony at Citizens Bank Park after all, and the music and artistic director of the Philadelphia Orchestra will serve as the featured speaker.

Drexel’s announcement earlier this spring that it would forgo the ceremony because of a scheduling conflict at the park drew complaints from students and parents. The park already had concerts booked on both June 15 and June 17, and given the time needed for set up, the school wasn’t able to secure a night for the ceremony.

But all that changed when Morgan Wallen decided to postpone his June 17 concert at the park, Drexel said. The country singer has postponed six weeks of concerts, including the Philadelphia appearance, after injuring his vocal cords during a three-night performance in Florida.

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Now the university will hold its commencement on Friday at 5 p.m., with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who is in his 11th season with the orchestra, scheduled to address the class.

“We were extremely disappointed that our university-wide commencement ceremony at Citizens Bank Park had to be canceled due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts,” said Subir Sahu, senior vice president for student success. “With recent changes to the Phillies’ concert schedule, a possibility opened up, ... and we are delighted to be hosting a university-wide commencement ceremony at the ballpark.”

Drexel has rented out the park for a university-wide ceremony every year since 2016, except for 2020 because of COVID-19.

Before that, the school had been holding individual ceremonies for its different colleges because it had no venue big enough to bring everyone together.

David Buck, executive vice president of the Phillies, said in April that any time any entity wants to rent out the park, it’s contingent on two things: the playoffs and concerts.

“No offense, if we can have 40,000 people at a concert, we’re going to have to do that,” Buck said.

The university said in April that it had searched for another venue in partnership with the Phillies but could not find one on the available dates with enough capacity, which, in the past, was between 8,000 and 12,000. About 1,500 to 2,000 of the nearly 6,000 graduates and their families come to Citizens Bank Park each year.

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In mid-May, when news of the concert being canceled surfaced, Drexel announced to the campus that it would be holding its commencement at the park. Last week, the school announced the speaker.

The university also this week will hold individual school celebrations where graduates will be called to the stage by name to receive their degrees.