Faculty Commencement Practice
Held each semester during final's week (exact date and time announced via email)
Faculty:
Students:
All candidates for degrees must wear the traditional black gown appropriate to the degree being awarded and black mortarboard (cap) with black tassel. Master's candidates wear a hood with colors appropriate to their degree. Honor graduates may wear a gold cord. University Scholars may wear the bronze medallion awarded them. Nothing else may be worn on the academic costume, including the mortarboard cap.
Shoes appropriate to the occasion are to be worn. Shoes and other articles of visible apparel worn by graduates should be in dark colors that harmonize with the academic costume. Nothing else should be worn on the academic costume. Caps, gowns, and other graduation apparel may be ordered through the bookstore. Any questions about academic regalia should be directed to the Office of Academic Records in Room 103 of the Hall-Moody Administration Building.
Faculty:
Faculty need to find their place in the Line of March 30-45 minutes before the ceremony is scheduled to begin.
Platform Participants:
Platform participants need to meet at the Chancellor's suite in the Dunagan Alumni Center one hour before the ceremony. Vans will shuttle these individuals to the Elam Center in time to take their places in the line.
Faculty:
Line 1 will form on the northeast side of the first level corridor (signs will be posted by Records).
Line 2 will form on the inside walls of the first level corridor.
Deans:
Deans need to report to the floor area adjacent to their line of march and locate the appropriate banner as follows (Records will ensure that banners are placed on appropriate side):
The dean should take his/her place in line in front of the first student in the college represented by that dean when that student arrives on the floor area and remain in the appropriate line while proceeding down the main aisle
Other Platform Participants:
Will report to the Southeast floor area.
Will be lined up according to the line of march established by the Office of the Chancellor.
Faculty:
Faculty marshals will follow the Mace Bearer and lead the faculty lines down the center aisle.
As the two lines meet at the center aisle, faculty members should pair and continue down the aisleThe processional will stop when it reaches the end of the aisle, and the "Mace Bearer" turns around to face the graduating line of march as it continues the processional, continuing to hold the mace.
The faculty lines up on both sides of the center aisle then turns to face each other
Graduating students march in two lines up the central aisle through the faculty (symbolic of their association with the faculty during their academic careers). Graduate students walk with graduate students and undergraduate students walk with undergraduate students. The lines will diverge at the end of the aisle in front of where the "Mace Bearer" is standing; go across the front row of seating and down the outside aisle to their seats, as instructed by the marshals assigned by Records. They will stand at their seats until everyone in the procession is standing at their seat
Two lines of platform guests follow the graduates through the faculty, past the "Mace Bearer", and up the ramps to their seats on the platform.
The faculty lines will move to their seats after the platform guests pass the rows in front of the graduates set aside for the faculty and remain standing. The marshals will direct faculty to fill the front row first, then the second, and so on, leaving the aisle seats on the front row for the marshals and mace bearer, these seats will be marked by Records with name and program
With everyone standing at their seat, the "Mace Bearer" places the Mace in its resting place and moves to his or her seat.
Faculty will remain standing at their seats until after the invocation.
Deans:
Deans should carry the banners so that the bottom fringe of the banner appears slightly above the head.
The banners should always face forward - do not try to turn the banners toward the audience. Upon reaching the platform, the deans should walk along the side of the platform and pass behind the second row of chairs to the stand marked for his/her banner.
The dean should walk behind the stand and lower the banner into the stand, making sure that the banner is secured in the stand and positioned straight (the stands will be marked by Records to indicate which stand is appropriate for that college).
The dean should then move to the appropriate chair on the platform and stand while the remaining deans and platform guests take their positions in the back row as follows:
Platform Marshal Hum&FA Eng&NS Grad EH&BS Bus&PA Ag&AS Platform Marshal
Front Row (Depending upon guests).
*Each dean will go to the podium to present the graduates in the following order:
*The statement should be worded in the following or a similar manner:
[Said to the students]: In the college of [Name of College], will the candidates for the [List each degree awarded by the college] please rise.
[Look briefly at Chancellor, then say into the microphone]: Chancellor [Chancellor's Name] and President [President's Name], the candidates before you have met all requirements for their respective degrees, as set by the faculty, and are ready for their degrees to be conferred. Please be seated. [Make sure you include this statement]
Events
Wed.
Jan. 23
Administrative Drop for non-payment
All Day
Wed.
Jan. 23
Last day to drop with no record of enrollment
All Day
Mon.
Feb. 25
Midterm Progress Report due 8:30 a.m.
All Day
Fri.
Mar. 01
Last day to drop (POT 1)
All Day
Sat.
Mar. 02
Spring Break
All Day
UT Martin Degrees & Majors & General Education
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