Polytechnic Institute of New York University holding commencement at Barclays Center, morning of May 23

A week after Long Island University (LIU( is holding its commencement at the Barclays Center, so too is Polytechnic Institute of New York University, based at MetroTech with arena developer Forest City Ratner. Unlike LIU, NYU-Poly, as its known, is not giving an honorary degree to arena developer Bruce Ratner.

Nearly 7000 people are expected at event Thursday, May 23, which begins with more than 1000 graduates arriving at 8 am at the entrance on residential Dean Street.

The schedule

8:00 A.M. Graduates arrive –All graduates will enter for the processional at the Emblem Health Dean Street Entry (Southeast corner of arena on Dean Street)
8:00 A.M. All guests of graduates with appropriate tickets must enter directly through the GEICO Main Entry. Several guides will be available to assist guests
9:00 A.M. Ceremony begins with the processional
11:15 A.M. Ceremony concludes (approximate time)

The merger backstory

As noted in the press release below, NYU-Poly, formerly the independent Polytechnic University, is on track to fully merge with NYU to become the NYU School of Engineering in 2014. That merger, first described as an affiliation, was unsuccessfully challenged in court, with a decision coming in 2009.

However, the absorption of the Brooklyn institution by NYU might be seen as a very savvy acquisition, not only adding the engineering school NYU desperately needed, but also acquiring property--existing buildings and air rights--needed for NYU's growth.

The press release

Back in Brooklyn
NYU-POLY COMMENCEMENT RETURNS TO BROOKLYN AT BARCLAYS CENTER; GRANTS HONORARY DEGREES TO NOTED PHYSICIST S. JAMES GATES AND JOSH S. WESTON, LEADER OF ADP AND FIRST
NEW YORK, May 14, 2013 – A short ride on the B63 from the park recently named for Adam Yauch, the Beastie Boy who crowed “No Sleep ‘til Brooklyn,” Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) is “Back to Brooklyn.” This year will mark the first time in nearly four decades that the school will hold its commencement ceremony in its home borough rather than in Manhattan.
The May 23, 2013 ceremony at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center will be the largest commencement in recent Poly history, with more than 1,000 graduates and an estimated 5,800 guests.
Presiding over the ceremonies will be Katepalli Sreenivasan, the newly appointed president of NYU-Poly. Dr. Sreenivasan inherits the reins at a time of great excitement for the school:

• the pending full merger to become the NYU school of engineering in 2014;
• the recent ranking of NYU-Poly as No. 3 among all schools in PayScale’s 2013 College ROI [Return on Investment] Report, which compares tuition investment to salary potential; and
• its selection by U.S. News and World Report as No. 9 among the Best Online GraduateEngineering Programs. Many of the graduates of the NYU e-Poly distance learning program will be meeting each other for the first time during commencement week, after collaborating from far-flung locales during their online classes.

This year the school is granting two honorary degrees. Physicist S. James Gates, Jr., renowned for his work on supersymmetry and supergravity and the first African-American professor to hold an endowed chair in physics at a major research university in the United States, will address the new graduates. Dr. Gates, the John S. Toll professor and director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland, is recipient of the National of Medal of Science, the highest scientific honor in the United States. He serves on of the President’s Council on Science and Technology.

Honoree Josh S. Weston serves on the Executive Advisory Board at For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a longtime affiliate of NYU-Poly in engaging pre-college students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through robotics. He chaired ADP, the largest payroll and tax filing processor in the world, through 164 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth during his tenure as CEO. A Fulbright scholar, he serves in many voluntary roles including chairman of the board of Yeshiva University Business School, chairman of the Boys Town of Jerusalem and vice chairman of Business Executives for National Security.