Today’s the day at Kansas University: Time for caps and gowns, the walk down the hill and, for just the second time in at least several decades, an address from a guest speaker.

KU’s annual commencement is set for today, and officials expect about 4,000 graduates to parade through the World War II Memorial Campanile, down Mount Oread and into Memorial Stadium beginning at 10:30 a.m. Gates to the stadium are set to open at 9 a.m., and the formal program inside the stadium will begin at 11:30 a.m.

The graduates will hear from Wes Jackson, the founder of The Land Institute in Salina and part of KU’s second class of honorary degree recipients. Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little also will address the crowd.

The program is scheduled to wrap up at 12:30 — before, according to National Weather Service forecasts as of Friday, likely storms and thunderstorms are expected. If bad weather threatens, KU will announce plans to delay the ceremonies by 9 a.m. at alert.ku.edu and through local media.

Parking on campus will be free — and first-come, first-serve — and the parking garages next to the Kansas Union and Allen Fieldhouse will be open. Free shuttles will run to the stadium beginning at 8:30 a.m. from the Fieldhouse parking garage and nearby parking lots.

More details on parking, the schedule and more are available at commencement.ku.edu, where the ceremony will also be streamed live online.