PROVIDENCE — Johnson & Wales University’s international allure was put on display during commencement exercises yesterday when the flags of nearly 80 nations were paraded through the Dunkin’ Donuts Center by graduates from those countries.

“Nepal, Ecuador, Slovenia, Switzerland, Argentina, Malaysia, Philippines,” said an announcer, stating the name of each country as the respective flag was carried across the auditorium floor and toward the podium.

Irving Schneider, president of the university, commented on the school’s global reach, asserting that its reputation “grows stronger each year.”

Governor Carcieri added: “You’re graduating from the best school of hospitality and culinary arts in the country.” Because so many of the school’s graduates remain to work in local restaurants and hotels, he added, “you make Rhode Island a great place.… There are more hotels and restaurants being built than in anytime in the history of the state.”

The remarks came during ceremonies for the culinary arts and hospitality schools, which were held in the afternoon. In the morning, commencement exercises were held for the College of Business and School of Technology. In all, degrees were conferred upon 4,741 graduates during the ceremonies.

With so many graduates, the seats at The Dunk were nearly filled, occasionally lending the ceremony the air of an arena concert or sports event. Booming bass notes heralded the arrival of the graduates, who then strode up the center aisle and filled the rows upon rows of seats on the arena floor. Their images appeared on large screens on either side of the podium and on the scoreboard suspended above the center of The Dunk.

When those in the audience saw their loved ones on one of the screens, they would stand, clap, wave their arms and shout.

“P.J.!” one man yelled to no avail in the din of the arena.

“He can’t hear you,” said a woman next to him.

Meanwhile, graduates could be seen on the screen using their cell phones to call family members to find out in which section of The Dunk they were seated.

Alan S. Gould, publisher of Nations Restaurant News and vice president of the weekly publication’s parent company, Lebhar-Friedman Inc., gave the commencement address. He described his start in the industry as a teen working as a night-shift and weekend dishwasher for a tyrant of a chef at a suburban country club in New York. Now he oversees the publication of the only paid-publication magazine for the food-service industry, with a circulation of 80,000.

“Why am I so eager to extend a warm welcome to you? Because the food-service industry is the largest single industry in the United States, larger than the aerospace industry, larger than the computer industry.… The food-service industry is a $540-billion provider that employs 12.5 million people,” Gould said.

“Add to the scope of the food-service industry, the hotel industry — and you have nearly $800 billion in hospitality-industry sales. That’s huge, and it just keeps on growing. And it needs lots of trained professionals to keep up with the growing demands of the food-service and travel exerpiences. So you have made a very wise decision to be part of a community that really wants you.”

An honorary doctorate was conferred upon Gould and Wolf H. Hengst, retired president of worldwide hotel operations for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

The student address was given by Lacy R. Sprague, who had only 22 classmates at her high school in Vermont before arriving at Johnson & Wales. Her college experience, she said, turned her from a “quiet, self-doubting” young woman into someone capable of standing in The Dunk and delivering a commencement address.

“The funny thing about education is it changes everything,” she said.

rsalit@projo.com