Commencement 2003 - A Student-Centered Celebration

After an extensive review process that included students, faculty and university staff, Utah State's 2003 commencement activities will be more student friendly and more student focused, with each graduate walking across the stage to be honored at the main ceremony in the Spectrum.


Commencement is set for May 2-3, with all graduate degrees being awarded on Friday, May 2, and all of the undergraduate ceremonies scheduled for Saturday, May 3.

"I am extremely pleased with the ceremony the students and the rest of the committee have crafted," said President Kermit L. Hall. "My goal all along was to make our graduation celebration just that — a celebration that honors the hard work students have done and a capstone event to highlight their educational achievements."

Hall said the committee recommended major changes that all centered around the idea that students must take center stage at Utah State’s commencement. In that vein, the cast of dignitaries and other honored guests on stage has been slimmed, and activities that honor student success have been added.

Commencement is still expected to last approximately two hours, same as in the past.

The main change from previous years is that each student will walk across the Spectrum stage to receive a certificate of commencement with their individual name on it. Beginning in 2004, students will receive their actual official Utah State University degree on stage, but due to time constraints this year, students will receive the certificate of commencement in the official degree cover.

Hall said he is especially excited about this change. "Every one of them deserves the spotlight, front and center stage," he said. "They should be proud of their accomplishment — I'm proud and I want to shake every student's hand and tell them that."

Two lines of students, one on each side of the stage, will walk up a side ramp to receive a degree from their college dean. The students will then walk to the middle of the stage and turn down a center ramp where they will be met by Hall and Provost Stan Albrecht as they return to their seats.

Names will not be read aloud at commencement, but video footage will be displayed on the overhead scoreboard for families and other visitors to get a close-up view of the action.

Assistant Provost Sydney Peterson, who co-chaired the commencement study committee, visited Ohio State's similar commencement ceremony in December, and she said it was obvious that families and students were well aware of each other's location during the ceremony. "We got the sense that families knew exactly when their students crossed the platform. The cheering certainly seemed to verify that no one was lost in the crowd," she said.

To help fine-tune the location of students on the floor, a map designating where the different colleges will be seated will be included in the graduation information sent to students. Students can tell their families generally where they will be sitting, and Peterson said most students seemed to connect with their families before they even reached their seats.

Peterson noted that the Saturday activities are for undergraduates only. The graduate student hooding and all graduate student ceremonies are Friday (see schedule below). A new event, a graduate student reception, will follow the main Friday ceremony (more details will be forthcoming).

University Registrar Glenn Davis, who also co-chaired the commencement committee, said it is extremely important for graduating students to meet all of the deadlines this year. The Registrar's Office needs as much time as possible to verify data to ensure that students’ names and their certificate of commencement are on stage on commencement day. Graduation deadlines are still being finalized, but Davis said specific deadline information will be published as soon as it is known. In the meantime, he said students should check with their college advisers about details, which may vary from college to college.

Peterson said students will note other significant changes in the ceremony. Of special significance, she said, is the designation of a student commencement speaker who will address fellow students. Each college dean will join the college valedictorians in leading the students, and college faculty will act as official marshals and walk with their students. Another change will have the deans officially presenting their students to the president and provost for the conferring of degrees, during which they will stand for applause. College faculty, who will sit just behind the stage, will also stand and be recognized at that time.

A graduating student will be selected to sing the national anthem and lead the school's alma mater hymn. Valedictorians will be honored at a special ceremonial dinner Friday evening in the Alumni House hosted by the provost.

Peterson said time was saved by shortening many of the activities that did not directly involve students, including an abbreviated session to recognize honorary degree recipients and the elimination of some musical numbers and other presentations.

"You will see that we've brought this event back to a student-centered theme," she said. "No one will mistake who is the most important part of this day."

Seating in the Spectrum is open on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be no limit on the number of visitors a student invites, and overflow seating will be available in the event that the Spectrum reaches capacity.

The traditional academic procession will continue as in the past, Peterson said, although it will be critical that students remain in the order they are placed, since the certificates will be in like order. New this year, however, a graduation rehearsal is scheduled for Thursday, May 1, at 3 p.m. on the north HPER field near the Spectrum. She said there might be some students who have conflicts with finals, but she hopes that most students will make the rehearsal as it will make the flow work much more smoothly on graduation morning.

On Saturday morning, students will marshal on the Quad and march to the Spectrum along the walk in front of the College of Agriculture and the Biology-Natural Resources Building.

The traditional Friday night graduation dinner (tickets required) and graduation concert are again scheduled. The graduation picnic (tickets required) on the HPER field following the ceremony also will continue.

Colleges are working with their own students to determine events they would like to schedule for themselves, and some of the colleges already have activities set. Others are still working through the details, and each will provide specifics when plans are finalized.

Hall said he has appreciated the feedback he received from many individual students, studentbody leaders and the commencement committee.

"This will be a culmination of their years at Utah State, and I want it to be an event they remember always," he said.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR COMMENCEMENT 2003

ROTC Commissioning Ceremony – 9:00 a.m.
Eccles Conference Center Auditorium

GRADUATE SCHOOL HOODING and COMMENCEMENT – 1:00 p.m.
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum
Students & Faculty line up in tunnel at 12:00 noon

Graduation Dinner – 6:00-7:45 p.m.
Taggart Student Center, Evan N. Stevenson Ballroom
(Tickets required in Advance)

Collage of Sounds Concert – 8:00 p.m.
Chase Fine Arts, Kent Concert Hall

SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2003
(Only for undergraduates)

Academic Assembly – 8:00 a.m.
Faculty and undergraduates on the University Quadrangle in Colleges

Academic Procession – 8:30 a.m.
Taggart Student Center and University Quadrangle to Dee Glen
Smith Spectrum

UNDERGRADUATE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY – 9:00 a.m.
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum

College Graduation Ceremonies (tentative dates and times)

12:00 noon
College of Agriculture, Chase Fine Arts Center, Kent Concert Hall
College of Education, Dee Glen Smith Spectrum
College of Natural Resources, Chase Fine Arts Center, Morgan TheaterCollege of Science, Taggart Student Center, Evan N. Stevenson Ballroom

2:00 p.m.
College of HASS, Dee Glen Smith Spectrum

4:00 p.m.
College of Business, Dee Glen Smith Spectrum

Story by Tim Vitale (435) 797-1356