Commencement
May 14, 2011
- Time: 10:00am
- Location: Townhouse Green
Commencement Week Activities and Registration Forms
- Letter to Parents from the Dean of Students
- Timeline for Convocation and Commencement
- Senior Week Activities (pdf)
- Senior Week Activities Order Form (pdf)
- Visitor information
- Yearbook Information and Order Form
Commencement Speaker
Carrie Hessler-Radelet is deputy director of the Peace Corps. She and her husband, Steve Radelet, served together as Peace Corps volunteers in Western Samoa (1981-1983). Prior to her confirmation as deputy director, Hessler-Radelet was vice president and director of the Washington, D.C. office of John Snow, Inc., a global public health organization. She has worked in the field of public health for more than 20 years, specializing in HIV/AIDS and maternal and child health. Hessler-Radelet received her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and her master’s in health policy and management from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Academic Distinction
Additional academic distinctions made at Commencement include: students graduating with Honors, Nitze Scholars, Valedictorian, Phi Beta Kappa, Academic Honor Societies, National College Athlete Honor Society and The Geneva Boone Award for a St. Mary's Project.
The Academic Procession
The procession is led by the graduating seniors, preceded by that faculty member who, being chosen annually by the Faculty Senate, carries the large wooden mace, long a symbol of authority. Wearing a simple variation of the medieval black gown, the seniors wear hoods that are short and lined with the College's colors: blue, gold, and white. The hoods are edged in white, indicating a degree in the liberal arts (humanities). A gold ribbon on the right shoulder signifies election to Phi Beta Kappa. Students belonging to eight national academic honor societies are set apart by the tasseled cords or medallions that are worn around the neck. All the students wear mortarboard caps with the tassel hanging over the right front, but at the end of the ceremony the new graduates will flip these tassels to the left.
The faculty marshal follows the students, ushering in the second half of the procession, which consists of faculty, staff, and finally the platform party.
