Rentals
William Jewell publishes two sentences that most colleges would quietly leave out, and both change how you plan the day.
The first: the Walk Around the Quad route "is not wheelchair accessible." The college explains why: "The hill behind Mathes Hall slopes steeply downward and there are many steps into the Mabee Center."
The second: the Mabee Center is not air-conditioned. In mid-May, in Missouri, in a room holding several thousand people, that is not a footnote.
Where and when
Commencement is on campus at the Mabee Center, 500 College Hill, Liberty. Baccalaureate is in Gano Chapel the evening before. The Mabee Center has roughly 1,800 folding chairs on the ground level and 1,400 bleacher seats, with parking-lot-level access at the northeast and southeast entrances. That is the detail to hold on to, given the steps mentioned above.
Timing is mid-May, a Saturday, around 10:30 a.m.: doors at 9 a.m., Quad Walk at 10 a.m., ceremony about an hour and a half to two hours. The academic calendar gives a confirmed May 8, 2027 commencement, with Baccalaureate May 7 and Nursing Pinning May 6. There is no December ceremony.
Seating is unlimited general admission and no tickets are required. Doors at 9 a.m. for a 10:30 start tells you what the college expects: people arrive early and wait.
The accessibility contact and the deadlines
William Jewell names a person for this, which is unusual and helpful:
Andrea Meloan, 816-415-7831, meloana@william.jewell.edu, for "guests who need sign language interpretation or who have wheelchairs or other special seating needs."
The deadlines are March 1 for ASL and May 1 for wheelchair or special seating. A maximum of six seats per candidate may be reserved in the accommodation area.
That May 1 deadline is about a week before the ceremony, which is tight. Ring earlier.
For year-round matters there is a separate office: Accessibility Services, Curry Hall, 816-415-5965.
Parking
There is no commencement-specific parking page. General policy allows visitors to park in student and commuter lots, including the Mabee Center and Greene Stadium lots and the lots behind Browning, Eaton and Semple. Guests with a state-approved disability permit properly displayed may park in any ADA-designated space. No shuttle is published.
Why families rent for this one
Put the published facts side by side. A ceremony on a hill campus. A processional route the college itself says is not wheelchair accessible. Many steps into the building, with the accessible way in at the northeast and southeast entrances off the parking lot. Doors ninety minutes before the start. No air conditioning in mid-May.
None of that is a reason to miss a grandchild's graduation. It is a reason to arrive with wheels, come in the parking-lot-level entrance, and sit comfortably instead of standing in a line in the heat.
We deliver a scooter, transport chair, wheelchair or rollator to your hotel in Liberty or the Northland, charged and ready, and collect it after the weekend. William Jewell publishes a long "Nearby Lodging" list, and several Liberty and North Church Road properties mention a "Jewell rate." Worth asking about, though note that list is for campus visits generally and is not a commencement block, so do not count on the rate for graduation weekend. All of those hotels are straightforward deliveries for us.
Booking
Tell us the date, the ceremony time and where you are staying, and we will have the equipment there, cleaned, charged and ready, before you need it. Commencement weekends are the tightest dates in our year, because every family in the same position is booking the same morning. Call as soon as you know the date rather than the week before.
KC Mobility Scooter Rentals is an independent rental company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or speaking on behalf of any college or university, and we do not control any campus or venue policy. Details here were read from each school's own published pages in September 2026. Always confirm the current year's arrangements with the school before you travel.