On Saturday, December 19, NDSU held the first commencement since the “retirement” of Forum Man of the Year Joseph chapman. Presiding over the ceremonies was interim president Dr. Richard Hanson.
Anyone that has not been to a major(well, in this case, maybe semi-major) college graduation shuold go, at leatt once. They are colorful, precise and a true ceremonial tribute to the students, faculty and institution. It is much more interesting if you know someone that is being awarded a degree. Also, NDSU is almost unique in institutions of higher learning in that there are no outside speakers. A couple of hours ofn watching people walk across a stage is boredom enough, I guess. Not all universities award all the degrees individually. When I got my PhD at the University of Minnesota, the university had about 60,000 students, and the spring commencement awarded about 10,00 degrees. so individual awards were not possible, except for the PhD’s(but not the MD’s).
The proceedings start with the processional, first of the faculty. I sometimes wish I didn’t have to watch this part from the inside, as each faculty member wears a PhD gown with a large hood with the colors of blue(for philosophy) and the colors of the institution were the PhD was rewarded, in my case, maroon and gold. Oh, yes, they march by seniority, which means not how long at NDSU, but how long at NDSU with their present rank. Some universities have thieir own gowns with other colors than black, and the same for the cap. It is wuite a colorful sight.
Thjen comes the “stage party,” consisting of the president, academic vice president, the deans of the several colleges along with the Distinguished Professors, in this case a member of the State Board of Higher Education, some people that read names, all lead by the Presiding Officer of the University Senate, carrying the mace that is the symbol of authority of the university, symbolizing that the ral autority of the university lies with the University Senate. Then, of course the students, who march be degree and college.
President Hanson made a few opening remarks. He commented that this exercise was the most important day of the fall semester, and that this day would be the most important in the careers of the degree recipients thus far. Of course, he congratulated everyone on their work ethic, perseverance, etc. Greetings were also presented by Sue Andrews of the State Board of Higher Education. Finally, before the awarding of degrees, there were remarks by a representative of the graduating class, Patricia Romaine. I’m not sure when this tradition got started, but I think it an excellent one.
The degrees were then awarded, with the highest(PhD’s) first and moving down, if I can use that word here: I don’t think of any of these degrees as down, to the Bachelors degrees. Most institutions do it the other way around. In the spring, there are actually two different ceremony’s, one for advanced degrees and one for the undergraduate degrees. There’s a reason for this, which I’ll explain in a bit.
Then there is applause, the playing and singing of the “school song,,” The Yellow and the Green. Then the recessional, of course, followed by a reception in the concourse of the Dome.
I always feel good for a couple of days aftr attending one of these events, possibly because I take my own advice and don’t go unless someone close to me is graduating, in this a very special student of mine that actually got two degrees(BS and MS) degrees, and this was no exception. I also was gladdened byu the fact that no one from the Athletic Department was present, threw was no mention of athletics, except for the last line of the description in the program of Dr. Hanson’s credentials, where it was mentioned that he had played for the Bison and the New York Giants.
I promised I would explain the inverted order of the awarding of degrees. I hate to bring this up in such a positive, but to me it is symbolic of what appears to me(and many of my colleagues) is the total lack of understanding and therefore respect the population of North Dakota has for higher education.
NDSU used to use the more popular of lowest to highest, but by the time the graduate degrees were awarded, most of the parents and the like had left their seats and were milling around the stage talking and laughing, taking pictures and the like, creating such a ruckus that the announcer could not be heard over the din. Contrast that with the ceremony in Minneapolis when my PhD was conferred. There was complete silence until it was over, at which point we got a standing ovation. From everybody.
Even in this ceremony, when each degree was awarded, there would be four or five people in the audience that felt they had to yell and shout. Most of my colleagues in my neighborhood did not appreciate this, and neither did I. Usually, there is announcement to hold the applause until the end, but there wasn’t this time. In my experience, it doesn’t matter. In case I did not make the point clear, this is supposed to be a solemn, formal occasion. Shouts in the middle are not called for nor appreciated.
These events are always learning experiences for me; a chance to join in the congratulation of the graduates, renew acquaintances among my colleagues and administrators, and in my case, to visit with former students that are now faculty. I definitely recommend attendance at a commencement if someone close to you is graduating.
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Another good article. Do you have any suggestions for how to change ND’s view of higher education. I know it would be difficult, but something that is clearly needed.