More than 10,500 students are slated to graduate at UF’s 2023 spring commencement ceremonies on May 5.

The event is scheduled from 7-9 p.m. at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Individual college ceremonies will start on May 3 and finish on May 8. Click here for the commencement schedule details.

UF engineering alumna and U.S. Olympic gold medalist speedskater Erin Jackson will give the commencement address. Jackson, 30, is an Ocala native and a 2015 UF cum laude graduate. She became the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic winter games when she accomplished the feat in 2022 in Beijing.

Dr. Leslie Parker, professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science in the College of Nursing, will be the UF faculty speaker at the May 4 doctoral commencement.

Rock artist Tom Petty, a Gainesville native who died in 2017, will be awarded an honorary degree in music from UF. Petty’s family members will receive the award on his behalf. In October 2022, the UF’s University Athletic Association (UAA) celebrated the inaugural Tom Petty Day in conjunction with the Gators’ football game against LSU.