Commencement 2008: Graduate School of Management
Congratulations! You soon will receive your degree from Clark University. Although most of your work is completed, there are a few significant details for you to attend to before graduation in May. Times, dates, locations, procedures, attire, and guest services for Commencement 2008 are listed below. Please read this information carefully, note important dates and deadlines.
Attendance
Commencement 2008 will be held Sunday, May 18, on the Jefferson Academic Center green. The procession, from Kneller Athletic Center to the campus green, begins at 1:15 p.m. and the ceremonies at 1:30 p.m. If any last-minute emergency on Sunday prevents you from joining the ceremony as planned, please call 793-7575.
The 2½ hour ceremony includes honorary degree presentations and the Commencement Address. The ceremony concludes with the awarding of doctoral, master's and bachelor's degrees. Those participating in Commencement are expected to stay for the entire ceremony.
Students who have completed all work (no incompletes) are included in the Commencement program automatically and are invited to participate in the graduation ceremony.
Please complete the online Attendance Response Form whether you are or are not planning to attend.
Caps and Gowns
You will be fitted when you pick up your cap, gown, souvenir hood and tassel on Tuesday, May 13, or Thursday, May 15, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Atwood Hall Blue Room. The charge for this is $27.00, payable at pick up. The outfit is yours to keep. Please make checks payable to University Cap & Gown Company.
Commencement Day Schedule
Assembly
If you are graduating, assemble at 12:30 p.m. sharp in Kneller Athletic Center wearing (or carrying) your cap and gown. Anyone who does not arrive in time for accurate placement in the procession will not receive a diploma on stage. Seating: In Kneller, you will find tagged seats arranged alphabetically. Find the one with your name on it and be seated. You will receive last-minute instructions at this time.
Procession
From Kneller you will file in pairs to the Commencement area. When you take your seat on the campus green, stay in alphabetical order-otherwise you might get someone else's diploma.
Ceremony
The ceremony lasts about 2 1/2 hours. As a courtesy to the graduates and their families, you are expected to stay in your assigned place for the entire ceremony. Awarding Degrees: Group 1 is all graduate degrees; Group 2 is all COPACE undergraduate degrees; Group 3 is all day-school undergraduate degrees. At some point in the ceremony, the faculty marshal will ask members of your degree group to stand. Remain standing as President Bassett confers your degree, and then shift the tassel on your cap from right to left. (Doctoral candidates shift their tassels at the podium.) Your group then will file toward the podium, row by row, beginning at the front and the extreme left. Follow the person on your left. When your name is called, walk across the platform, receive your diploma and return to your seat.
Recession
After the ceremony, the formal recession of the platform party (including the president, trustees, honorary degree recipients, and faculty) begins. You are expected to remain seated until they have left the platform. Graduates will follow them in a recession from the platform to Atwood Plaza along the walk beside Jefferson Academic Center, where faculty members will have formed an aisle to congratulate you.
Considerations for Guests
Guests who prefer seating indoors may sit in Atwood Hall, where they will be able to see a video broadcast of the ceremony on large TV monitors. If special seating is required for physically challenged family or friends, please contact Physical Plant (793-7566) in advance to arrange reserved seating.
Media
Professional photographers will set up near the Commencement platform to take photographs or film each graduate as he/she is handed a diploma. You are under no obligation to purchase the photograph or video when the details are sent to your home following graduation. Your family and friends may take their own photographs along the processional route from Kneller and from a small section reserved at the side of the platform.
Commencement Festivities
Brunch
On the morning of Commencement there will be a brunch in the Lurie Conference Room, Higgins University Center, between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. If attending the Brunch, please indicate the number of reservations (including yourself) on the Attendance Response Form (reply on-line). Each GSOM graduate will receive 1 (one) complimentary reservation to the brunch. Additional reservations can be made for the brunch as follows: adults $15 and children 5-12 years $10, children 5 and under no charge. Brunch is offered as advance purchase/reservation only. There will be no brunch purchases at the door Commencement Day. Please contact Laurie at (508) 793-7670 to make payment no later than May 5, 2008.
Reception
After the Commencement ceremony, arrange to meet family, friends and favorite professors at a designated spot in the Higgins University Center (not at the Information Desk, please) or outdoors. A reception with refreshments will be held for you and your family in the University Dining Hall in the Higgins University Center following the ceremony.
Invitations
You may invite as many guests as you wish to Commencement. There is no charge for up to 5 University invitations. The bookstore has available personalized announcements that you may purchase, but there is no obligation. Invitations for current full-time students will be placed in your mail folder. Invitations for part-time students and previous grads will be sent in the mail.
Additional Commencement Information
Please visit the main Clark University Commencement page: www.clarku.edu/commencement/