FROM LATIN SPEECHES TO SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS: A Guide to Emory’s Evolving Commencement Traditions
No matter your role on that auspicious Monday in May — excited graduate, proud family member, engaged faculty, staff and alumni — Commencement ends too soon.
Cameras do their part, brought out in droves to record the moment, reminding us of all that Emory’s graduates have achieved. Still, on Commencement morning, so much passes in a blur. It has always been thus, even in the earliest years when Emory graduations were marathons of speechifying (sometimes, painfully, in Latin).
Long-held anticipation of the big day gives way too soon to closing remarks. Caps are sent sailing, some bearing messages. The last notes of the recessional linger just a moment in the air. A new phase in the life of these extraordinary Emory alumni has begun.
More than a few of us want the frames to move more slowly and the chance to take everything in. Here, then, is a guide to Emory Commencement traditions old and new — a hedge against forgetting this special scene on a day of joyful distractions.
Regalia
Academic dress got its start with the founding of European universities beginning in the 12th century and then saw changes introduced in the 16th century by Protestant reformers. In the U.S. in 1901, a convention of representatives from schools across the country voted to standardize academic costume. Eager to embrace the use of academic dress, which did not exist for graduations at Emory in the 19th century, the Class of 1902 was the first to don the garb that is so familiar today.
Previous Dean of Emory College of Arts and Sciences John Stephens Jr. congratulating a student
Previous Dean of Emory College of Arts and Sciences John Stephens Jr. congratulating a student
The bachelor’s gown features an embroidered Emory University seal in gold thread and long, pointed, open sleeves.
The master’s gown has longer sleeves, which are closed at the bottom with openings about midway for the hands. Beginning in 2014, the bachelor’s and master’s gowns have been made of fabric spun from the molten plastic pellets of recycled water bottles. As a symbol of the university’s commitment to sustainability, an average of 23 postconsumer plastic bottles are used to create each gown.
The doctor’s gown has full-length lapels of velvet and bell-shaped sleeves with three horizontal velvet bars.
The hood varies for the respective degrees, the doctor’s hood being longer and fuller than the master’s. Each field of study has a corresponding color scheme. The hood is lined with silk in the colors of the degree-granting institution. For Emory graduates, the lining is blue with a chevron of gold.
At Oxford University in 1565, the square cap seen today became the norm, but something known as the Tudor bonnet is still worn by doctoral candidates. For tassels, black is the color for bachelor’s and master’s caps; gold thread may be worn by doctors.
Enjoying the cooler temperatures of spring? Until 1880, Commencement week fell in mid-July and senior exercises consumed an entire day.
Bagpipes
Emory historian emeritus Gary S. Hauk 91PhD describes the moment that calls everyone to order as the ceremony is about to begin: “From the back of the gathered crowd, a single bagpipe wails its first martial notes, followed by a roll of drums and a crashing skirl from the rest of the Atlanta Pipe Band. The chief marshal of the university steps out in stately time, followed by the bagpipers, then university trustees, officers and honorary degree recipients.” (From the essay “The Feast of Reason and the Flow of Soul.”)
In 1967, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution photographed Emory student Henry Frantz (r) playing his instrument. A couple of other pipers saw the article and reached out. Word began to spread in Atlanta’s Scottish community that there was a new band forming. Others joined in, and by 1970, the Atlanta Pipe Band was established.
In 1967, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution photographed Emory student Henry Frantz (r) playing his instrument. A couple of other pipers saw the article and reached out. Word began to spread in Atlanta’s Scottish community that there was a new band forming. Others joined in, and by 1970, the Atlanta Pipe Band was established.
These days the mellow tones of the Atlanta Symphony Brass Quintet alternate with the stir of the Atlanta Pipe Band, led by Emory alumnus Henry D. Frantz Jr. 71C 74L. The pipers carry the colors of both Emory University and the University of St Andrews, Emory’s sister university in Scotland. In recognition of the significant relationship between the two institutions, Pipe Major Frantz composed “The Emory and Old St Andrews March” used in the processional.
The video captures those stirring sounds indicating that another Emory graduation is officially underway.
Many of the band’s members are prize-winning soloists. All, however, take special pride in ensemble performance, producing a technically challenging and musically satisfying experience for the listener.
Mace
The university mace is carried in the procession by the immediate past president of the Student Government Association in a role known as the bedel. The mace symbolizes a university as a corporate body of scholars possessing its own jurisdiction and legally constituted authority. Traditionally, the mace is borne in procession immediately before the chief officer of a university — in Emory’s case, the president — and is placed before them during formal academic ceremonies.
Emory’s mace is a gift from D.V.S. Senior Honor Society in 1965. It was designed by Eric Clements and executed in silver and gold by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths. In the teardrop at the apex of the mace, against a background of oxidized silver, is a freestanding representation in gold of a human skeleton. This is Dooley, the “spirit” of Emory, who traditionally “rises” once each spring and for a week rules campus.
Immediately below the skeleton, in an open teardrop, is a gold sphere divided (by stippling) into eight segments. Topping the sphere is a simple cross, symbolizing the relationship of Emory University to the Methodist Church.
The seal of the university is sculptured in gold within the circular base.
1965—Led by the bedel bearing the mace, the faculty process with President Sanford S. Atwood (r)
1965—Led by the bedel bearing the mace, the faculty process with President Sanford S. Atwood (r)
In addition to Commencement, the mace makes appearances at Convocation and Baccalaureate. In between these events, the mace makes its home at the Rose Library, “quietly awaiting,” as an Emory Magazine article attested, “its next opportunity to shine.”
Alma Mater
“It graces every Commencement ceremony. It rings from the bell tower on Cox Hall every day at noon. It is both the most familiar tune and the least-known song on the Emory campus. Everyone can hum it, but most are grateful for the lyrics printed in their programs. It is the Emory alma mater.”
The above words come from Emory Historian Emeritus Hauk.
Marvin Rast 1918C 29T sang in the Emory Glee Club and was elected to membership in D.V.S. Senior Honor Society. He is also the author of Emory’s alma mater — a project he undertook when, in the spring of Rast’s senior year, the glee club director was lamenting the absence of a song about Emory for the season’s final concert.
In 1945, the original line “Loyal sons and true” was wholly out of place as women were graduating from every school of the university. Two weeks after Commencement that year, once female graduates lodged complaints, the line was emended to “Sons and daughters true.”
During the presidency of James T. Laney (1977-1993) and for a decade afterward, the alma mater was not performed. It was Jason Hardy 95C, who founded Emory’s first a cappella singing group, No Strings Attached, who approached the administration about reviving the tradition. Another needed update was made to the language — replacing the line “In the heart of dear old Dixie” with “In the heart of dear old Emory” — and No Strings Attached began performing it. The alma mater came back into the Commencement lineup in 2005.
Emory’s alma mater is set to “Annie Lisle,” which is the tune of hundreds of alma maters for high schools, colleges and universities across the country — and even in China.
Society of Corpus Cordis Aureum
Society of Corpus Cordis Aureum (Latin for “Golden Core of the Heart”), established in 2004, honors Emory alumni who have graduated 50 or more years ago. At Commencement, these “Golden Eagles” are invited back to campus for the Cherry Emerson Concert, breakfast with the president and the Medallion Ceremony. On graduation day, members don their gold robes for the Commencement procession, leading the candidates for graduation onto the Quadrangle.
Members of the society number 14,000 worldwide. With the understanding that not everyone can come to Atlanta to receive their medallions, Emory has begun conducting regional medallion ceremonies.
A Golden Alumni Brunch takes place in fall, associated with Homecoming, and events throughout the year offer members educational, cultural and social enrichment.
The word “society” was added recently “to more fully identify members as being part of a special and deeply valued group that shares a common memory of Emory. This enhancement acknowledges the fellowship of shared experience and honors the group’s collective wisdom and perspective,” says Kevin Kell, associate director of alumni engagement.
Emory Alumni Legacy Medallion
Graduating students who have a parent, grandparent and/or sibling who is also an Emory graduate may wear specially commissioned medallions hanging from blue and gold ribbons. The medallions are expressions of the university’s gratitude to those families who have chosen to continue the Emory education tradition throughout the generations. At a ceremony preceding Commencement, the graduating student receives the medallion from their family member.
Legacy activities begin in a student’s first year during a pinning ceremony also involving family members.
Honorary Degrees
The awarding of honorary degrees has been a tradition at Emory since 1846, when the Rev. William H. Ellison received a doctor of divinity. Ellison was a Methodist minister and a leader in establishing higher education in Virginia, Alabama and Georgia. He typified the sort of selection the university made in the 19th century — namely, to honor individuals for their contributions to the church and education.
More recent honorees include Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, who has dedicated his career to helping the incarcerated; Temple Grandin, animal behaviorist and autism expert; former Georgia congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis; and Natasha Trethewey, two-term U.S. Poet Laureate and former Emory faculty member.
Filmmaker Tyler Perry was Commencement speaker in 2022 and received an honorary doctor of letters degree from Emory
Filmmaker Tyler Perry was Commencement speaker in 2022 and received an honorary doctor of letters degree from Emory
Emory honorary degree recipients have achieved the highest distinction in a field of scholarship — the arts, humanities, social sciences, sciences, health, business, law and all the professions — or in public service.
The university suggests its values and priorities with honorary degrees. For instance, the 14 Nobel Peace Prize winners with Emory honorary degrees include 10 peace laureates, two in literature and one each in economics and medicine. Although public servants and philanthropic business leaders tend to outnumber all others, writers also abound among the honored — appropriate for a university with a top-ranked undergraduate creative writing program.
View a full list of recipients.
At some institutions, the Kermit the Frogs of this world have earned honorary degrees. At Emory, it’s people only.
School-specific and Oxford College Traditions
Emory College
The sole speaker at the Emory College ceremony is the class orator, a graduating student chosen by a committee of seniors to represent the class. The college also awards the Lucius Lamar McMullen Award to a graduating senior “who shows extraordinary promise of becoming a future leader and who has the rare potential for service to their community, nation and world.” In 2023, that award carries with it a $30,000 check for the recipient.
Oxford College
Student marshals occupy the front of the line for the student procession, and they receive their diplomas first. These students have a 4.0 GPA. After the recessional, the historic Seney Hall bell tolls once for each graduating student.
Goizueta Business School
At the BBA graduation, there is a tradition of “class superlatives” whereby the BBA senior representatives determine the categories and then students nominate one another. The school recognizes the top students in each category as well as the winner.
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
BSN students receive pins featuring the initials of the school. Wearing it is a privilege earned by nursing graduates across the country and represents a commitment to the profession and serving the needs of society. If a graduate has an immediate relative who is also an alumnus/a of the school, the family member gives the graduate their nursing pin on stage.
Rollins School of Public Health
Eschewing “Pomp and Circumstance,” the school goes its own way, selecting a student song and a faculty song to play as graduates and faculty exit the venue.
School of Law
Black Law Students Association (BLSA) alumnae started the Sankofa Ceremony. In the spirit of “Sankofa” — an African word meaning “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind” — BLSA alumni reach back and assist students with becoming alumni.
Candler School of Theology
The school’s DMin graduates — ministry professionals who have studied on either the Church Leadership and Community Witness or Biblical Interpretation and Proclamation tracks — are hooded by the program director and a faculty member.
School of Medicine
During the hooding part of the MD ceremony, graduates sign their names in the MD program alumni book, using the MD credential in their signature for the first time. This has been a tradition at the school since 1992, and many current faculty members’ names appear in the book.
Laney Graduate School
Doctoral graduates are hooded by their advisers. The hooding ceremony originated in European universities in the 11th or 12th century. Hooded robes, often required for warmth in unheated medieval libraries, were first used as a practical uniform for scholars. Universities then added colors to the robes to differentiate students by their academic majors.
Class Day Crossover
This senior class tradition is now in its 21st year. After finals and before families arrive for Commencement, seniors “cross over” from being students to alumni in a candlelight procession from the Emory Student Center to McDonough Field, where an evening of fun, music and food awaits.
Emory alumni, faculty, staff and trustees are invited to a pre-Crossover Reception and to cheer on the graduates during the Candlelight Crossover. The students enjoy a dinner reception and awards program with a student-selected keynote address and final Coke toast. Following the candlelight procession, everyone joins together on McDonough Field for a final celebration of the graduates.
Once Emory, #alwaysemory.
Last year, students took more than 8,000 images at graduation-themed photo booths. Special software, created by a recent Goizueta Business School alumnus, identifies who is in each photo and sends it directly to their phones.
Baccalaureate
Baccalaureate is a multifaith spiritual ceremony of reflection and celebration on the Friday afternoon before Commencement. At the event, graduating seniors share music, reflections and meditations with one another. They are joined by Emory’s president, deans and chaplains who offer their best wishes and blessings to the graduating class.
At the 2022 event, each senior received a magnet with symbols of the religious, spiritual and wisdom traditions practiced at Emory, “including the Muscogee knot, which is a representation of the first people to live and to learn in this place,” said the Rev. Gregory W. McGonigle, Emory’s dean of religious life and university chaplain. “We hope you take it with you as a reminder of all the blessings that are wished for you, now and always.”
About this story: Text by Susan Carini 04G. Photos and video by Kay Hinton and Emory Photo/Video. Design by Laura Dengler.
Moments in Time
1968—Father and daughter celebrate
1968—Father and daughter celebrate
1962—Stacked diplomas
1962—Stacked diplomas
1940s or 1950s
1940s or 1950s
1976
1976
1966
1966
1970s or 1980s
1970s or 1980s
1970s
1970s
June 5, 1939—Emory President Harvey Warren Cox leads graduation procession
June 5, 1939—Emory President Harvey Warren Cox leads graduation procession
1968
1968
June 4, 1949—Emory Television's inaugural broadcast and first filming of Commencement
June 4, 1949—Emory Television's inaugural broadcast and first filming of Commencement
1970s
1970s
1960s
1960s
1970s or 1980s
1970s or 1980s
1970s—Emory President Sanford Atwood and faculty member
1970s—Emory President Sanford Atwood and faculty member
1970s or 1980s
1970s or 1980s
For more (so much more) on Emory Commencement, see “’Feast of Reason and Flow of the Soul’: A History of Emory Commencement” by Gary Hauk, Emory historian emeritus.
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