Faculty Guide

After so much hard work, personal growth and accomplishment, your students are about to celebrate their graduation from USD.  We appreciate your commitment to these students and your willingness to share the occasion with them.  In this guide, you’ll find answers to questions about logistics such as the role of marshals, ordering regalia and parking.  We look forward to seeing you in May!

 

• August and Mid-Year Graduates
• Caps and Gowns/Regalia
• Dining During Commencement Week
• Diplomas
• Disability-Related Needs
• Eligibility for Participation
• Honorary Degrees and Speakers
• Hooding of Doctoral Candidates
• Flowers
• Line-up/Procession Instructions for Faculty
• Mace
• Map of Campus
• Marshals
• Parking
• Programs
• Readers
• Regalia
• Restrooms
• Who to Contact

 August and Mid-year Graduates

There is a special Celebration Mass each December in Founders Chapel for undergraduate, graduate and law students who complete their coursework by the end of January.  The Mass is followed by a reception that is usually held in the French Parlor.  You are invited to attend and celebrate with these graduates.  Since the Celebration Mass is not a Commencement ceremony, caps and gowns are not worn and diplomas are not presented.  Mid-year graduates are invited to participate in the Commencement ceremonies in May.

 Caps and Gowns/Regalia

Faculty receive by e-mail an online form for participation in Commencement and ordering of regalia. This form is needed for all faculty who plan to attend a USD Commencement ceremony, even those who have their own regalia, to arrange adequate seating on the Commencement platform.  

Caps and gowns can be ordered through the USD Bookstore until March 31 (www.usdbookstore.com).  Once ordered, they can be picked up beginning May 12 during the Bookstore regular hours.  Regalia ordered through the USD Bookstore must be returned immediately following Commencement; bins for this purpose will be provided at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.  For more information on academic dress, please see Regalia.

 Dining During Commencement Week

Dining Location	Tues 5/19*	Wed - Fri 5/20-22	Sat 5/23	Sun 5/24
Aromas	7 am - 4 pm	7:30 am - 3 pm	Closed	Closed
Bakery and Market	7 am - 4 pm	7:30 am - 4 pm	Closed	7:30 am - 2 pm
Deli	10:30 am - 2 pm	10:30 am - 2 pm	Closed	Closed
La Paloma	7 am - 10 am	Closed	Closed	Closed
Main Dining Room Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner	7 am - 10 am, 11 am- 2 pm, 4:30pm - 8 pm	Closed	Closed	Closed
Torero Grille	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed
Faculty and Staff Dining Room	11:30 am -1:30	Closed	Closed	Closed

*Note: Tuesday 5/19 is the last day Meal Plans will be accepted.

 Diplomas

At the Commencement ceremony, graduates receive a diploma cover with a letter of congratulations.  Graduates who have completed their degree requirements receive their diplomas by mail over the summer.

 Disability-Related Needs

Faculty who need special accommodation, such as wheelchair or assisted access, or have unanticipated needs that arise during the week before Commencement should contact Greg Zackowski, Hahn University Center Operations ((619-260- 4798).  This information will be shared with the appropriate platform marshal.

Vehicles displaying a Disabled Person Parking Placard or Disabled Person License will be directed by officers to designated spaces in the Mission Parking Structure.  These spaces are on the third floor of the structure, directly across from Torero Stadium.  Although vehicles will not be allowed to load or offload passengers in front of the Jenny Craig Pavilion, tram service is provided for all disabled and elderly guests from the third floor parking structure entrance level.

 Flowers

Leis, corsages and other floral items will be available for purchase before each Commencement ceremony.  Although graduates sometimes wear leis with their regalia, corsages should be reserved for guests. 

 Hooding of Doctoral Candidates

For the hooding of doctoral candidates and awarding of doctoral diplomas in the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science and the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, Ph.D. graduates are escorted to the stage by their dissertation chair (or other committee member, if the chair is not available).  Be sure to hood with the velvet on the outside and by placing the front of the hood over the candidate’s head. 

When the Provost says, “Doctoral candidates in Education or Nursing, please stand and approach the platform”:

• Candidates stand from their seated position on the floor and move to the foot of the ramp at their left side of the stage.  Candidates carry the hood draped over the left arm with the velvet toward the right. MAKE SURE THE HOOD IS NOT BUTTONED!
• At the direction of platform marshal, faculty chairs seated on the platform stand and proceed to top of the ramp at the front right of the platform. Meet your first doctoral candidate at the top of the ramp.  Do not go down the stairs or the ramp.
• Faculty chair takes hood from the candidate and drapes it over his or her left arm with the velvet toward the right.

When the candidate’s name is announced by the dean, candidate and chair walk across to center stage, candidate on the RIGHT of the faculty member

• Candidate stops in front of President Lyons and faces audience.
• Chair stops to President Lyons’ right.
• The chair hoods the candidate and congratulates the candidate (photographer takes picture at this point).
• Candidate turns back to face Dr. Lyons to receive the diploma and Dr. Lyons’ congratulations.
• Chair and candidate proceed across stage to far ramp (unless chair is hooding next candidate, in which case he or she remains at center stage to meet next candidate).
• Candidate returns to seat and sits down.
• Chair returns to his/her seat by walking behind the platform party or circles behind platform party to join chair’s next candidate for hooding.  The platform marshal will have a list with the order of the candidates.

 Honorary Degrees and Speakers

Honorary Degree candidates are selected using a process that begins with a nomination from faculty, staff or students.   Nominations are presented to the Honorary Degrees Committee of the University Senate, which makes recommendations to the senate and the Board of Trustees. 

Candidates for an honorary degree must have demonstrated one or more of the following:  exemplary service to the community, the nation or the world which is consistent with the university's philosophy and goals; commitment to peace and social justice; commitment to equality among persons and respect for the variety of cultural traditions in societies; and/or support of the search for truth and the appreciation of human dignity in a tradition of liberal education that combines professional competence with an awareness of the broader imperatives of being human.  A detailed explanation of the honorary degrees policy and a nomination form are available by consulting the USD Policy Manual. 

Although honorary degree recipients often serve as speakers for Commencement, the keynote address is not always given by the honorary degree recipient.  Candidates for speakers should exemplify the mission and goals of the University of San Diego, be leaders in their fields and discipline-appropriate to the Commencement ceremony that he or she will address (Undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences; Undergraduate Business, Engineering, Liberal Studies; Graduate; and School of Law).  Nominations for Commencement speakers can be made to Deborah Gough (gough@sandiego.edu).

 Line-up/Procession Instructions for Faculty

Faculty should arrive at the Jenny Craig Pavilion at least 45 minutes before the beginning of the ceremony.   Faculty robing takes place in the Faculty Green room (Fitness Center) in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.  (Bins will also be provided in the green room for return of regalia after the ceremony). 

For the graduate Commencement, a lineup sheet with your placement in the procession will be posted on the walls in the staging area. If you are hooding a doctoral candidate, you will be in the left hand line and will sit on the right side, facing the audience; please see the section, “Hooding Doctoral Candidates.”

For the undergraduate Commencement, faculty form two lines in the corridor in preparation for the processional.Your faculty marshal assists in the line-up and leads the processional.  There is no assigned seating for faculty on the platform for the undergraduate ceremonies, but faculty are expected to stay in their rows as they fill the available seats.    

 Mace

Ceremonial maces derive from staffs or clubs used to break armor during the Middle Ages.  Since that time, they have become formal objects used to symbolize power, protection or leadership.  At USD Commencements and other special academic ceremonies, the mace is carried by the senior member of the faculty and symbolizes academic authority.

 

Map of Campus

Please go to here for an updated campus map.

 Marshals

The head marshal, Greg Zackowski, oversees the coordination of marshals and ushers.  Each ceremony is assigned a platform marshal, faculty marshal and candidate marshals.  Marshals are selected based on recommendations by deans and faculty, and are invited by the Chair of the Commencement Committee. 

 Parking

The university implements parking and traffic changes from Friday, May 22 through Sunday, May 24 to assist with Commencement. No university parking permits will be required on these days.

Please note the following changes:

• Parking will not be permitted on Santa Ana Drive after 5 p.m. on Friday, May 22 through Sunday, May 24.
• Vehicles will not be permitted to offload passengers on Santa Ana Drive during Commencement.

There are several available places to park during Commencement weekend:

• Mission Parking Structure
  
• West Parking Structure
  
• West Parking Lot
  
• Law School Parking Lot
  
• Hughes East and West Lots
  
• University East and West Lots
  
• Olin Lot
  
• Loma/Serra Lot
  
• Alcala Vista East Lot

Trams will be available to transport graduates and their guests from most of these locations. Disabled Person parking is available in the Mission Parking Structure; tram service will be provided for all disabled and elderly guests from the parking structure’s third floor entrance. For additional information, comments or special needs please contact Parking Services at (619) 260-4518.

 Participation

Participation in Commencement ceremonies is open to all benefits-based faculty.  In February, the Provost's Office, in conjunction with the USD Bookstore, will send an e-mail to all faculty regarding participation in Commencement and the ordering of regalia online.  Regardless of whether you order regalia through the Bookstore, please let the Bookstore know by filling out the on-line form if you plan to attend Commencement(s).  This helps ensure adequate seating on the platform for faculty.

Faculty with a member of the same household receiving degrees can assist in the conferral of their degree.  If you are a parent of a degree candidate and would like to participate in the conferral of degree, please contact Julia Bemiss, Assistant to the Chair of the Commencement (jbemiss@sandiego.edu) or (619)260-4553 by May 1.

 Programs

Faculty will find programs placed on their seats on the platform. 

 Readers

The reading of names of degree recipients is performed by faculty who have been recommended by their deans.  A script is provided to all readers, generally a week in advance of the ceremony.  Faculty are encouraged to contact department chairs, faculty or individual students regarding correct pronunciation of student names.

Readers who arrive early may also want to ask students for the correct pronunciation of their names as they line up for the procession. 

 Regalia

Academic dress, or “regalia,” dates back to the 12th century.  Scholars, whether teachers or students, dressed in the manner of clerics since they had often taken a vow of some kind.  Gowns were probably long for warmth, and while hoods initially covered the head, other forms of headdress later served the same function.  By the 14th century, English universities were prescribing a long gown without adornment, and later added colors signifying different areas of study.

Although European universities often vary in the styles and colors of academic regalia, in the late 1880s American universities adopted standardized code of academic dress.  In 1932 and 1986, the American Council on Education reviewed and updated this code.

Gowns are generally black and worn closed.  Some doctor’s gowns are trimmed in colors that match the edging of the hood that is appropriate for her or his degree.  (The colors associated with each discipline will be made available by the Bookstore when regalia are ordered or can be found on web sites such as www.academicapparel.com).

Regalia/response forms will be available via the Bookstore’s website and also in the store.

 Restrooms

Restrooms are located on both levels of the Jenny Craig Pavilion.  On the main level, they are on either side of the lobby.  These restrooms are ADA accessible and offer changing tables for guests with small children.  First floor restrooms are located near the lobby of the McNamara Fitness Center. 

During receptions, restrooms are available in the Hahn University Center.  Enter the main doors; the restrooms will be down the hall to the right.

 Who to Contact:

To order announcements, diploma frames, class rings, regalia etc., contact:
USD Bookstore Graduation Hotline
(619) 260-4600, ext. 2597
www.usdbookstore.com

For questions regarding the Chicano/Latino Recognition Ceremony:
United Front Multicultural Center
(619) 260-2395
e-mail:

For questions regarding the Commencement ceremonies, receptions, marshals or speakers:
Julia Bemiss
Office of the Provost  
(619) 260-4553
e-mail: Julia Bemiss

For information regarding a reserved disability parking permit or to request a wheelchair:
Greg Zackowski
Executive Director, Hahn University Center
(619) 260-4796
e-mail: Greg Zackowski