Faculty & Staff Preparation | Commencement & Convocation

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Academic Regalia

I. Mortarboards or tams are worn during the processional and recessional. Men remove mortarboards or tams for the singing of the national anthem.
II. Tassels are placed to the left.
III. Hoods are worn as follows:

• Place hood over head with velvet and colors facing outward.
• Button front cord to blouse or shirt
• Fasten cord across back to keep hood secure.
• Pull colors of hood lining outward from inside center so that they project to the outside and are more prominent.

Faculty Regalia Rentals

You will need regalia to participate. If you do not own a set, please complete the Faculty Regalia Rental Form (link forthcoming). Once complete, please send the form via email to commencement@bookstore.uconn.edu. Payment can be made upon submission of the form or will be due upon pick-up. Rental orders will only be accepted until March 14, 2025.

Undergraduate Ceremonies - Instructions for Faculty & Staff Participants

Please consult with the individual school/college in which you are participating. The contact information can be found on the May Commencement page.

Graduate Ceremonies - Instructions for Faculty and Staff Participants

Masters Ceremony (9:00am - Gampel Pavilion)
Faculty and Staff Processional

You will need regalia to participate. If you do not own a set, please complete the Faculty Regalia Rental Form (link forthcoming). Once complete, please send the form via email to commencement@bookstore.uconn.edu. Payment can be made upon submission or will be due upon pick-up. Rental orders will only be accepted until March 14, 2025.

All faculty and staff are welcome to participate in the Procession. RSVPs are not required.

All faculty and staff participating in the processional will assemble in the lower level of Gampel Pavilion. Please plan to arrive to the designated location in Gampel at 8:15am and arrive with your regalia already on. There is no secure location in Gampel to store any personal belongings (bags, purses, etc.) so please do not bring them with you.

Please enter through the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium lobby (near the Husky dog sculpture) and descend the stairs to your left. At the bottom of the stairs, you will gather to the RIGHT. The first person to arrive will start the first line immediately to the right of the bottom of the stairs (facing the stairs). The second person to arrive will be the first person in the second line (on the other side of the same hallway - still keeping to the right of the stairs you descended). Subsequent arrivals will line-up behind these faculty members. Please remember to form two lines. The two lines of the Faculty processional will join right up with the tail end of the Student processional lines and make their way onto the floor of Gampel.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Faculty/Staff seating section will NOT recess. Once the Platform Party has recessed, you are free to leave your seat and make your way out of Gampel Pavilion.

Faculty and Staff Processional Forms at 8:15am
Faculty and Staff Processional Begins at 8:45am
Ceremony Begins at 9:00am

Doctoral Ceremony (6:00pm - Jorgensen)
Faculty Advisors

Faculty advisors whose advisees RSVP to attend the ceremony will be contacted directly via e-mail. If you are not contacted via e-mail, your advisee has not yet RSVP'd to attend the ceremony. If you know they plan to attend, please encourage them to RSVP via the link on the Student Preparation page before April 18, 2025. If you are unable to attend, there will be two faculty members available on stage to hood any candidates who are not there with their Advisor. Participation is encouraged but not required.

You will need regalia to participate. If you do not own a set, please complete the Faculty Regalia Rental Form (link forthcoming). Once complete, please send the form via email to commencement@bookstore.uconn.edu. Payment can be made upon submission or will be due upon pick-up. Rental orders will only be accepted until March 14, 2025.

There is no secure location in Jorgensen to store any personal belongings (bags, purses, etc.) so please do not bring them with you.

All Doctoral candidates and faculty advisors need to enter Jorgensen via the rear entrance (from Jorgensen Road). Please do not use the main entry to Jorgensen (from Hillside Road) unless you need to utilize the building's elevator.

Please meet up with your candidate(s) before entering Jorgensen. If the weather is nice, you may wish to meet up with them directly outside of the back entrance of Jorgensen. Otherwise, a pre-determined meeting space outside of Jorgensen will work best (ex. SU Marketplace, outside of Gentry, etc.). Once inside the building, please immediately proceed to the lobby of the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theater (the "little theater") in the lower level of Jorgensen. This is where we will organize the line-up for the candidate processional. Staff will be there to assist you. Please make sure that you and your candidate(s) are in the lower level of Jorgensen by 5:00pm at the absolute latest.

Seating at the Doctoral ceremony is very limited. If you are a staff member or faculty member who is NOT hooding a candidate during the ceremony but is interested in viewing the ceremony, please tune into the live stream of the ceremony in order to ensure that seats are available for the graduates and their guests.