Lavender Graduation

Lavender Graduation is an annual senior celebration conducted at UR (and over 200 other universities around the country) that welcomes all members of the Spider community to honor and celebrate LGBTQ+ graduates, students, faculty, and staff.  The first Lavender Graduation was held in 1995 by Ronnie Sanlo, director of the University of Michigan's LGBTQ+ resource center at the time.

The first Lavender Graduation took place at UR in 2013 and has grown throughout the years.  Starting in 2023, the Student Center for Equity and Inclusion joined partnered with the LGBTQ+ Student Coalition to combine our Lavender Graduation ceremony with Rainbow Prom.  This year's event will take place on Saturday, April 26th, 2025 from 6 - 10 PM in the Jepson Alumni Center.

The event will kick off with Lavender Graduation from 6 - 8 PM, which will include a buffet dinner, speeches, performances, awards, and a cording ceremony. This will be followed by Rainbow Prom from 8 - 10 PM, where folks can celebrate their love and communities on the dance floor. Both events are open to all UR students, faculty, and staff.

For any questions or concerns, please contact Casey Butler (they/them), Associate Director within the SCEI, at cbutler2@richmond.edu or (804) 484-1653.

RSVP form coming soon! Stay tuned!