Thank you for considering to volunteer at a very special ceremony for our December graduates on Sunday, December 21, 2025. Your help is very much appreciated by our graduates and their guests!
We have a variety of roles to fill, and we’re happy to help find an enjoyable assignment perfect for you. The time commitment is 7:45 a.m. – noon.
Please register here to volunteer. Select “Register” and then “Volunteer” to enter the form and select a role where you would like to help. Thank you!
When you help to make the December Ceremony special for our students & families, you will enjoy the following in return:
- Paid time off equivalent to one-half (1/2) your standard work day to use by June 30, 2026. Refer to “Time Off Guidelines” section below.
- Thank you gift of 25 Awardco points for all benefits-eligible staff
- Thank you gift
- Share your Cornell pride with our graduates and families
Please bring your ID to show at Volunteer Check-in in Barton Hall.
We are providing a light-weight red vest for all to wear. Name tags will be provided at check-in.
You may wear dark colored slacks, jeans, skirt or dress. Sneakers or comfortable shoes are suggested as you’ll be on your feet for a few hours.
Please do not bring large backpacks or other bags as we will not have room to store them.
It will be wintertime so dress with layers as some duties may be near the entrances.
Initial training and information about the various roles of all volunteers will take place via zoom on Tuesday, December 16, 2025 at 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. A zoom link will be sent via email a few days prior. Please mark you calendar now.
Also, please plan to attend an important meeting prior to the event to review last minute details. Arrive between 7:35-7:50 a.m. to allow time to sign in, receive your vest and nametag, and be ready for an 8:00 a.m. meeting.
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, water and muffins will be provided. Feel free to bring a personal snack with you.
Before Event – Review Meeting
Sunday, December 21, 2025
8:00-8:30 a.m.
Barton Hall, (temporary volunteer room just inside, to the right of the Garden Ave entrance)
Time-Off Policy for Volunteers at University Recognition Ceremony for December Graduates, on Sunday, December 21, 2025
The Commencement Committee acknowledges volunteers who help at the University December Recognition Ceremony on Sunday, December 21, 2025, and provides the following guidelines to ensure that staff volunteers are appropriately recognized.
All volunteers should inform their immediate supervisor of their decision to volunteer.
Commencement pay guidelines are also available on the Working at Cornell website under Pay Practices & Guidelines. Please contact Workforce Policy and Compliance at hrpolicy@cornell.edu with any questions.
Eligibility
All regular full or part-time non-exempt and exempt staff, including benefits-eligible temporary staff.
Volunteer Time and Paid Time Off (PTO)
Eligible employees who volunteer at the University Recognition Ceremony on December 21 will be granted paid time off (PTO) equivalent to one-half (1/2) their standard work day.
NOTE: This PTO time is NOT reflected in Workday as time earned.
Non-exempt staff who volunteer should NOT record any time in Workday for their volunteer hours on December 21 at the December Event, as this is not paid time. If you have questions about time collection, please contact your payroll representative.
Non-exempt staff who are not assisting in an entirely voluntary capacity must be paid for all hours worked during the December 2025 University Commencement Ceremony whether those hours fall outside their normal work schedules and/or result in overtime. Such work hours must be accurately reported in Workday. In this case, a non-exempt employee will not receive the one-half (1/2) paid day off.
Use of Paid Time Off (PTO) – Workday Procedure
December Commencement PTO must be used by June 30 of the following calendar year. For example, PTO for the December 2025 commencement, must be used by June 30, 2026.
The paid time off should be scheduled so as not to disrupt normal work activities and must be approved by the volunteer’s immediate supervisor.
Non-exempt staff should request “Volunteer – Commencement Time Off” via an absence request in Workday when the day off is used.
Exempt staff should use the paid time off according to the procedure established within their department to track time off, as there is no method for recording the one-half (1/2) paid time off per their standard work day.
Additional Recognition
As an additional thank you to our staff volunteers who help with the December Commencement ceremony, university leadership is offering 25 Awardco points.
NOTE: Cornell Cooperative Extension employees, Cornell affiliates, students (including both undergraduate and graduate students), retirees, and friends or relatives of staff who volunteer, are not eligible to receive Awardco points.
The ceremony will be canceled if Tompkins County roads are CLOSED due to the weather. If canceled, it will not be rescheduled.
See: university operating status
If the weather is questionable, plan to check your text messages that morning for information about whether the event is cancelled or not.
December graduates are invited to participate in the upcoming spring Commencement, regardless of cancellation or attendance in December.