Throughout graduation season, I have had a variety of conversations about the traditions, pageantry, and symbolism connected to commencement ceremonies and the trappings of the academy.

I thought it would be timely to share some of the arcana that arises most frequently in those conversations.

Academic Regalia

During formal academic gatherings, faculty and often students will appear in academic regalia. There are different robes for each degree. There is an Intercollegiate Code on Academic Costume, which was established in the 1895 and has been amended a number of times since. Many institutions have in-house practices that deviate from these standards.

Robes

• Bachelor’s robes have closed sleeves.
• Master’s robes have extended oblong sleeve that hang below the wrist. I have been told that this is a vestige from a time when early scholars had a nook in their sleeves to keep their hands warm in unheated medieval environments.
• Doctoral robes in the U.S. typically have bell shaped sleeves with three velvet stripes. Those stripes may be black, or the color of the discipline. Presidents of colleges and universities may have four stripes on their sleeves. I still wear my 30-year-old three-striped model, which was a graduation present from my wife.

Hoods

• There are hoods associated with each degree as well. They combine satin in the institution’s colors with velvet or velveteen in the color of the discipline.
• Bachelor’s hoods are no longer the norm, but many institutions, including Susquehanna still use them. These are 3 feet long with 2-inch wide trim.
• Master’s hoods are 3.5 feet long with 3-inch wide trim. These have an oblong extension that mirrors the dangling sleeve of the master’s robe.
• Doctoral hoods are 4 feet long with 5-inch wide trim.
• Part of commencement at many institutions involves the “hooding” of graduate-degree candidates. At large institutions, this is sometimes done on the school level independent of the graduation ceremony.

Special Robes

Many institutions have customized robes for their graduates. The bodies of these robes are typically in a color(s) associated with the institution and often include an insignia, often the shield, of the university on the front velvet panels of the robe.

Here is an example from Boston University:

The Intercollegiate Code standardized colors for each academic discipline, which can be used for all of the velvet portions of the regalia. The default velvet color is black. Dark blue, which is aligned with philosophy is often the stand in for Ph.D. degrees is a variety of disciplines, but that is usually the choice of the consumer.

Here is a list of colors aligned with academic disciplines from Wikipedia^[1]

Faculty	Color
Agriculture	Maize
Arts (liberal arts), letters (literature), humanities	White
Commerce, accountancy, business	Drab
Dentistry	Lilac
Economics	Copper
Education	Light blue
Engineering	Orange
Fine arts, architecture	Brown
Forestry, environmental studies, sustainability	Russet
Journalism	Crimson
Law	Purple
Library science, Information science	Lemon
Medicine	Green
Music	Pink
Nursing	Apricot
Oratory, communications studies, broadcasting	Silver gray
Pharmacy	Olive green
Philosophy	Dark blue
Physical education, manual therapy, physical therapy	Sage Green
Public administration, public policy, foreign service	Peacock blue
Public health	Salmon
Science (social, natural and formal)	Golden yellow
Social work	Citron
Theology, divinity	Scarlet
Veterinary science	Grey

Baccalaureate

The word baccalaureate mean’s bachelor referring to the undergraduate degree. The word is derived from bacca lauri meaning laurel berry, referring to laurel wreaths placed upon the heads of individuals honored for their achievement in ancient times.

In modern times, baccalaureate is also the name for a ceremony, often religious, held at educational institutions before commencement. These typically include a “valedictory,” which is literally a farewell speech to the graduating class. The term valedictorian has come to be used to identify the graduate with the highest GPA because historically they gave that address to the class.

Much of the early history of grades in American higher education was associated with creating a way to determine which student would give that speech.

Honorary Degrees

Colleges and Universities often confer honorary degrees to individuals of extraordinary accomplishment or service. The earliest known example of this practice was at Oxford University. In 1479, Oxford awarded an honorary degree to Lionel Woodville in recognition of his meritorious service as Chancellor of the University. He later became the Bishop of Salisbury.

Pomp and Circumstance

The British composer, Sir Edward Elgar, composed 5 Marches, which comprise his opus 39. The first was completed in 1901. It was premiered along with No. 2 on a concert in Liverpool on 19 October 1901 and was an immediate success.

In 1905, the trio section was played at the commencement ceremony at Yale University where Elgar was the recipient of an honorary degree. This portion of the march has since been played at many graduation ceremonies in the U.S. and Canada.

In England, that trio is known as “Land of Hope and Glory.” Elgar adapted it for choir as part of his Coronation Ode for King Edward VII.

Mace

At most higher education institutions, a Faculty Marshall will lead academic processions carrying a symbolic mace designed specifically for that institution. The practice began in the 17^th century in England. The mace was modeled on ancient battle clubs, but now represents the power of academic freedom and intellectual autonomy.

At many institutions, the Marshall / mace bearer is an appointed or elected position. At some, it is an honor bestowed on the longest-serving faculty member. At one institution where I worked, the mace bearer was the previous year’s winner of the outstanding professor award.

The mace at Susquehanna was a gift of the Class of 1963. It was first used at our 108^th commencement on 30 May 1966. It was made by Hurst, Franklin & Co., Ltd., metalsmiths of London.

Around the edge of the silver bowl which tops our mace is the University’s motto, Ad Gloriam Maiorem Dei (To the greater glory of God). There are four rondels portraying: an itinerant preacher on horseback, the Seal of Pennsylvania, Selinsgrove Hall, and Martin Luther’s Coat-of-Arms. There are also 32 stars representing the states in the U.S. at the time of the University’s founding in 1858. The top of the mace is a three-dimensional rendering of the University’s Seal.

The same Seal is at the center of the ceremonial chain, or President’s Seal of Office, that I wear at all formal academic events. It was first worn by President Weber at the same ceremony at which the mace was introduced.^[2]

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^[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dress_in_the_United_States#Intercollegiate_colors

^[2] Special thanks to Carl Moyer for sharing a copy of the official guide to The Mace and President’s Seal of Office – Susquehanna University.

All three of the Abrahamic religions are in the midst of important sacred seasons: Holy Week for the Christians, Passover for the Jews, and Ramadan for the Muslims. These religious traditions share a commitment to humility, supporting those in need, and fundamentally being good neighbors. In their best times, they have borne a commitment to ecumenicalism, and each has a rich history of scholarship and teaching. For centuries, faith and reason have met in the world’s great universities.

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of sharing a meal with Chaplain Kershner and Guy Erwin, the President of the United Lutheran Seminary and Ministerium of Pennsylvania Chair and Professor of Reformation Studies. Rev. Erwin was on campus to discuss the possibility of creating an articulation agreement between Susquehanna and the Seminary in support of our pre-ministry students.

We were founded in 1858 to provide training to young men who wished to become missionaries, but whose families lacked the means to provide them the then traditional education required for this work. Our founder, Benjamin Kurtz, sought a community that would sponsor such an endeavor, and Selinsgrove offered to help if he would also provide a traditional liberal-arts education to their sons and daughter who were not called to the ministry.

The institution and first building were named the Missionary Institute. Pre-missionary students attended free-of-charge, while non-seminarians paid tuition and fees and were educated through the Classical Division and the Female Academy. The institution officially adopted the name Susquehanna University in 1895 and shortly thereafter renamed the building, Selinsgrove Hall, in honor of the community that had supported our founding. In 1933, the Theological Department was suspended, ending our seminary work. ^[1]

Every president of Susquehanna was a Lutheran minister until 1977. Only 6 or 7% of our students identify as Lutheran today, and we have become a religiously open and pluralistic community. Each year, two or three of our graduates go on to pursue graduate seminary training, many of them are Lutheran, and building a partnership with the United Seminary will enhance their opportunities.

Susquehanna has often been described as Lutheran institution that flourished through Jewish philanthropy. Sigmund and Harry Weis were Jewish Susquehanna students in the very early years of the 20^th century. They and successive generations of the Weis family have provided generous philanthropic and leadership support to the university. Harry’s son, Robert, and grandson, Jonathan, served as trustees. Sigmund’s son-in-law, Charles Degenstein, was also a trustee and a philanthropic champion of the university. That support continues in perpetuity through the 1994 Charles B. Degenstein Foundation.

Those relationships were cultivated by Gustave Weber, the last Lutheran pastor to serve as president of SU, and they speak to the developing ecumenical spirit the University was beginning to undertake. That diversity of faith and thought has continued to grow.

Over the past few years, the religious affiliations of the Susquehanna student body^[2] and the nation^[3] are approximately:

	Susquehanna	U.S.
Catholic	30.0%	21.0%
Lutheran	7.0%	1.5%
Other Protestant	25.0%	40.5%
Eastern or Greek Orthodox	0.5%	1.0%
Jewish	2.5%	1.0%
Buddhist	0.5%	1.0%
Hindu	0.5%	1.0%
Muslim	0.5%	1.0%
Mormon	—	2.0%
Spiritual, but not religious	8.0%	—
Agnostic/Atheist	12.0%	11.0%
Secular	2.5%	—
Unknown/Other/None	11.0%	19.0%

Although our numbers are similar to the nation, they reflect less religious diversity than exists within a 200-mile radius of our campus. This why we strive to create an environment in which all students feel supported in expressing and celebrating their faith tradition, or lack of one. It is also why the Division of Inclusive Excellence includes our Chaplain, Rev. Scott Kershner, and our Director for Jewish Life, Rabbi Nina Mandel.

Alumni most frequently invoke our Lutheran heritage when they disagree with something I have done or when we announce an initiative from which they take discomfort. The latter is almost always around efforts to be more inclusive, and the former is the presidential third-rail of sending out a holiday card rather than an explicitly Christmas card. I realize the disgruntled may have lost their way, but Susquehanna has not.

As a modern liberal-arts university, Susquehanna’s culture has been shaped by its Lutheran Heritage in important ways. The University’s generations-long commitment to service, the enduring ethical core of our curriculum, our beautiful mission statement (We educate students for productive, creative and reflective lives of achievement, leadership and service in a diverse, dynamic and interdependent world.), and the Board of Trustees’ recent Statement on Inclusive and Ethical Living are all monuments to what Professor Emeritus of History, Donald Housely, called our “Goodly Heritage.”

In January 2018, the Network of ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) Colleges and Universities adopted a common calling entitled Rooted and Open. It is a collective acknowledgement that the intellectual foundations of our institutions are rooted in Lutheran traditions and “boldly open” to other traditions, religious and secular.

We are contemporary institutions prepared and committed to serve students from all faith traditions or none, and to do so with the widest array of intellectual resources we can muster. We affirmed that we must be institutions of “radical hospitality, so that all may flourish.”

What is important to recognize and celebrate is that ours is a dynamic heritage that has at its core a commitment to the common good and a recognition of the worth in each member of our community. These are the values of the Abrahamic religions, and they are the values of the liberal arts. We are in the business of making good neighbors, because it is what we are called to do, it is our vocation, and it is the best of our history.

I wish you all meaningful, reflective, and rewarding observances now and always.

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^[1] Housely, Donald D.: Susquehanna University 1858-2000: A Goodly Heritage. Selinsgrove, PA: Susquehanna University Press, 2007.

^[2] My rough averaging from recent factbooks.

^[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_America

In 2019, I wrote a series of posts on the leading threats to higher education. At that time, they were:

1. Market Disturbance
2. National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) Changes
3. Price Sensitivity
4. International Student Decreases
5. 2026 “Demographic Cliff”
6. Poor Public Understanding of What We Do
7. Geographic Population Redistribution
8. Limited Reputation

To a surprising extent these challenges remain the same, but the past three years have changed the relevance and impact of these issues. In 2019, I wrote:

In the absence of war or pestilence, we know how many 18-year-olds there will be for the next 18 years, which is why we know there will be a marked decline seven years from now. Based upon historic behavior and trends, we also know approximately how many of them will enroll in college when they reach that age.

The fall of 2019 presented a surprise to many in higher education, because the anticipated number of traditional-aged students who enrolled in college nationally was 1.7% lower than anticipated. Pennsylvania missed the mark by 2.6%. The disruption that occurred this past year was not only varied by region, but by institutional type.

Little did we know that pestilence was around the corner in the form of covid-19, which has dramatically escalated that flight from higher education. In the past two years, over a million college students have stepped out of higher education. There are a number of factors driving this exodus:

• Many students who enrolled during the pandemic dropped out after a semester of unsatisfying remote and hybrid learning experiences.
• Many students chose to take a gap year or years, hoping to enter college when things get back to normal [Yes, I just cited Teen Vogue].
• Based on conversations I have had with some of our students, they are taking advantage of the hot job market created by the “Great Resignation.” They hope to save up some money and return to school after things cool down.

The changes imposed upon the NACAC standards, which no longer prohibit institutions from actively recruiting students who have committed to another institution, have not resulted in the market turbulence many of us anticipated. Most institutions have not been aggressive in these efforts. I believe this is partly good sportsmanship, and partly the need to focus on retaining applicants in the face of pandemic pressures over competing recruitment efforts.

Following the economic downturn in 2008-2009, the expected family contribution of middle-class families stagnated for many of years. With inflationary pressures affecting other necessary expenses, the amount these families had left to pay for college declined. This is why the average out-of-pocket cost to attend many colleges and universities has declined over the past decade.

In this chart from Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid 2021 from the College Board, the net tuition and fees at private non-profit institutions has declined over the past sixteen years and total cost of attendance has declined over the past six years:

TF = tuition and fees
TFRB = tuition, fees, room, and board
COA = cost of attendance

In recent years, families’ ability to pay has finally begun to grow, but for many, their willingness to pay has not, which has put higher-education institutions into a bidding war with financial aid.

Because most institutions have limited financial-aid funding, these discounts are funds that are simply not collected. This is placing new financial strains on the majority of colleges and universities as the tuition and fees they collect fail to meet the costs to support their educational offerings. This is the crux of the “broken business model” in higher education.

The decline in International Student numbers logically accelerated during the pandemic. There has been some rebound this year. International graduate student enrollments increased by 13%, but undergraduate enrollments declined another 8%. The United States has lost its preeminence as a destination for international students. Current geopolitical aggressions and tensions will surely continue to stoke uncertainty in those markets.

The challenges associated with the “demographic cliff,” geographic redistribution, and limited reputation remain similar to 2019 with the exception of the impact of so many students dropping out of the higher-education pathway. Much of our effort in the coming years will be focused on reclaiming this “lost generation.”

One “Covid silver lining” has been a renewed awareness of how important in-person learning is developmentally and in terms of engagement. Millions of parents who a few years ago would have been indifferent about whether their children completed a degree on-line or in-person, have recognized what their students have lost due to the instructional realities of the past two years. This is liberal education’s opportunity to assert the benefits of learning in community.

The threats that join the list are student and employee wellbeing and divisiveness connected to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts.

We have seen dramatic challenges in mental health around the world and across generations. The transition into independent adulthood that accompanies leaving home and moving into an academic community has always been a stressful time in students’ lives.

The hyper-vigilant environments college campuses have needed to become out of public-health necessity has made them some of the safest environments from an infectious disease perspective, but it has added to the historic stress of the transition to adulthood in new and not yet fully appreciated ways. We have adopted many new resources to help students to adapt and to catch up from what they lost since the pandemic began, but this will remain an elevated priority for years to come.

DEI issues have emerged as a leading threat and opportunity for higher education. Across the country, we see lawmakers attempting to dictate course content in secondary schools and higher-education institutions. Many colleges and universities have renewed their commitments to support equity and inclusion for their students and employees, as did Susquehanna, and many have struggled to articulate their positions.

The vast majority of the current traditional college-age population consider DEI and gender liberation to be high priorities. This includes not just representation, but proactive policies and practices. Gen Zers are already making their purchasing decisions based upon the DEI practices of companies, and as they make their college selections, those institutions that are visibly proactive in their inclusion efforts will be the winners.

There is more uncertainty now than in 2019. As higher education prepares for the future it will be more important than ever to be mindful of the perspective and experiences of the next generation of students so we are ready to meet the where they are, which will allow us to successfully help them to reach their goals.