Final Exercises 2025
May 8, 2025
Facilities Management teams support ceremonies
Facilities Management teams have been busy preparing for Final Exercises which will take place May 17-18.
Preparations start in early spring with the Landscape team perfecting the appearance of the Lawn and Grounds overall, including aerating and fertilizing the grass, mowing and pruning trees.
Not including the Landscaping preparations to make Grounds so beautiful in the spring, FM dedicates over 7,000 hours of labor to support Final Exercises on the Lawn and various diploma ceremonies around Grounds, as well as another 3,500-plus hours to prepare dorms for graduation-related use, according to Associate Director for Maintenance Ryan Taylor, who coordinates FM's support of Final Exercises.
Setup includes installing 8,000 feet of green fence; 7,000 feet of blue roping; 1,800 white posts; 600 feet of ramps on the Lawn and 300 feet of ramps at diploma ceremony sites; and 21,000 chairs on the Lawn and 17,150 chairs for diploma ceremonies around Grounds. Plus, thousands of feet of electrical and video cables to power LED screens and speakers; 2,500 signs; 350 metal barricades; 44 metal detectors at entrances around the Lawn; and eight water dispensers.
Between ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday, FM staff reset the Lawn, picking up trash and returning Sunday morning to wipe and straighten chairs, reset the main stage and update all school-specific signage before guests arrive. FM staff members also drive 36 “Step Saver” golf carts along McCormick Road to transport guests to and from the Lawn ceremonies.
In addition to the preparations for the ceremonies themselves, Facilities Management's Housing Maintenance and Custodial teams perform a fast-paced turnover of dorms over a weeklong period after students move out. FM performs light repairs, deep cleaning and painting in seven Alderman Road dorms and three McCormick Road dorms to prepare approximately 2,000 bed spaces for graduation guests, late-stay athletes, ushers, and the Ft. Eustis band that performs at Final Exercises.
Jane Centofante
Communications senior generalist
UVA Facilities Management
(434) 982-5846
janecentofante@virginia.edu