Campus News

Individual Recognition Ceremonies a Commencement Highlight

by Christy DeLaMater

Individual recognition ceremonies continued this year to be a highlight of commencement weekend. Graduating students heard their names called out at departmental, school, and college ceremonies held throughout the weekend of May 15 and 16.

�Our ceremony is full of recognition,� said Vincent Idone, chair of the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and coordinator of the department�s more personalized ceremony. �Each graduate receives a certificate of achievement, signed personally by all of our faculty members.�

In addition to the ceremony itself, the department organizes a special dinner at a local restaurant the night before commencement. �Most students and faculty attend, which is especially poignant because each student pays for his or her own dinner. Following dinner, the students �roast� us, and we always come out of there �crisp.� It�s a hoot!�
In the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, the personal touch is also stressed. Arlene Ticano, assistant to the chair and commencement coordinator, said,

�Just as we did last year, we honored all graduates with a bouquet of flowers and a certificate during our formal ceremony. We also held a reception for the graduates and their families following the ceremony.�

At the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, graduates were addressed by the Hon. Victoria A. Graffeo, associate judge for the New York Court of Appeals, who was keynote speaker. Her husband, Edward Winders, �70 and �98, is a graduate of the doctoral program in political science and is active in alumni activities, according to Pina Smith, secretary to the dean and commencement coordinator.