Bryn Mawr College

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Campus Center- Ground Floor
Phone:(610) 526-7329
Fax:(610) 526-7327
roomres@brynmawr.edu

Ph.D. CandidatesThe reception following Convocation on Saturday will take place in the Cloisters, the enclosed courtyard inside Thomas.

Commencement 2008 is scheduled for Saturday 17 May and Sunday 18 May. If you have not attended Convocation or Commencement in prior years, a large tent will be erected in front of the Campus Center on Merion Green. Rehearsal, Convocation and Commencement will all take place under the tent. The reception following Convocation on Saturday will take place in the Cloisters, the enclosed courtyard inside Thomas.

SCHEDULE

We do expect that you will be here for rehearsal, Convocation and Commencement; Arts and Sciences students should email Dean Dale Kinney ( graddean@byrnmawr.edu) and Social Work and Social Research students should email Dean Marcia Martin (mmartin@brynmawr.edu) if you will be absent for any part of the weekend.

BRUNCH ON COMMENCEMENT SUNDAY

Wyndham will be serving brunch on Sunday by reservation only. Please contact Wyndham directly at x5236 (610-526-5236) to make reservations. The cost is $25 per person.
Erdman will be serving brunch as well. There are two seatings: the first is at 9:30am and the second is at 11:00am. The cost is $18 for adults and $11 for children, 12 years of age and younger.

REHEARSAL

FRIDAY 16 MAY AT 4:30PM AT TENT ON MERION GREEN

Attendance is required. Please bring academic cap only.

One of the advantages of Bryn Mawr’s small size is that at Commencement you are called to the platform to be hooded. This requires your attention and cooperation.
If for any reason you are unable to attend Commencement, you must write your Dean no later than Friday 2 May requesting permission to be absent. If it is not possible to be at rehearsal the Friday before Commencement, you must inform your Dean.
If you experience a last minute illness or other emergency that would prevent your being at Commencement, please notify the Office of Conferences and Events at once (610/526-5058).
Your presence at rehearsal is important because this is the time when the Chair of the General Faculty learns to match your name with your face and the correct pronunciation of your name. You in turn will learn what to do at the ceremony and where to line up to ensure that you get the correct seat.

PROCESSING

At rehearsal, Convocation and Commencement you will line up by department on Taylor walk. The order of procession will be with the student marshals assigned to the graduate students. Names will be in reverse alphabetical order by department.
If it is raining, line-up will be in the first floor corridors of Thomas. Please arrive by 1:45pm on Saturday and Sunday, find your place and get in line by 2:00pm sharp! If you need assistance, one of the student marshals with batons will be there to help.
On Commencement Sunday, the marshals will check to see if anyone is missing so that the order of “hooding” is not disrupted. If you acquire your own regalia, you must bring your hood to rehearsal on Friday so that it can be placed in the proper order.

ACADEMIC REGALIA

ALL BILLS MUST BE PAID TO THE COMPTROLLER AND ALL LIBRARY BOOKS RETURNED TO THE LIBRARY AND FINES PAID BEFORE YOU PICK UP REGALIA.
Academic regalia is provided by the College and will be distributed to Ph.D. candidates from the Campus Center as follows. Please note the times listed.

REGALIA DISTRIBUTION FROM CAMPUS CENTER:

Tuesday 13 May 12:00noon to 5:00pm
Wednesday 14 May 12:00noon to 3:00pm
Friday 16 May 12:00noon to 3:00pm

Each degree candidate is responsible for his/her own academic regalia and must pick it up in person, as it is particularly important that the cap be comfortable and the gown length appropriate.
Regalia must be returned to the Campus Center immediately after Commencement exercises on Sunday 18 May or a charge of $350 will be imposed.
SWSR degree recipients will gather immediately after Commencement exercises in the Cloisters for a class photograph. The photographer will be available for only a short time so please gather quickly for the photograph before you return your regalia.
Hoods, signifying the degree, are not worn either Saturday or Sunday. You will be hooded on the platform on Sunday. If you have purchased your own hood, please bring to rehearsal on Friday so that it may be filed in the proper order for Sunday’s ceremony. We cannot accept hoods on Sunday!
Gowns are worn closed.
Wear shoes that you can walk in comfortably over grass, up the ramp and across the stage (the gowns are black).
Caps are worn level, not tilted.
Tassels are worn over the left front of the cap.

INVITATIONS

We mailed formal invitations in early April to all individuals for whom addresses were supplied. Beginning Monday 7 April, you may pick up extra invitations from our office, Conferences and Events in the Campus Center to address and mail yourself. Unfortunately, the extra supply is extremely limited.

Tickets are NOT required for attendance at Convocation or Commencement. Please inform family and friends that seats CANNOT be reserved in advance with signs, balloons, clothing, etc.
An invitation to Dean Kinney’s reception in the Cloisters on Saturday 17 May will be mailed separately to the Arts and Sciences degree candidates. An invitation to Deans’ Martin and Albert’s reception in the Cloisters on Sunday 18 May for all Social Work and Social Research degree candidates is enclosed
Reservations for the Sunday morning brunch at Wyndham should be made by calling Wyndham directly at x5236. The cost is $25 per person.

PHOTOGRAPHY

The College has contracted with Legacy Photographics to take a picture of each degree recipient shaking hands with President Vickers. The company will email you with information about how to purchase that picture. There is no obligation to do so.
A “photo zone” will be established on one side of the tent where family and friends can go to take a picture (there is a 2 minute maximum).
Family and friends will not be able to come down the center aisle to the front of the stage; please let them know.

REQUEST FOR ACCOMMODATIONS

If you or one of your guests has a disability and requires accommodation for events during the weekend, you will need to complete a Request for Accommodation Form. This form is enclosed.
An area of the tent will be set aside for those requiring seating accommodation. Tickets into this area are required and will be sent to those completing a Request for Accommodation form. Please make sure you check with family and friends IN ADVANCE if special seating is required as we create the area under the tent based on the number of tickets issued.
A Request for Accommodation Form for special parking will need to be completed even if the car has handicapped-accessible license plates; demand far exceeds supply for the accessible spaces that currently exist on campus.
If sign language interpreters are needed, please let us know by 15 April.

EMERGENCIES

In the event of an emergency, please contact Public Safety or a marshal standing at the platform under the tent or seated in the front row.
General information about emergency plans will be relayed at rehearsal.

PARKING

Drivers may deposit passengers in the area between the Campus Center and Merion Hall.
For the convenience of drivers who park in remote parking lots, a campus shuttle will be available to take them to Merion Green.

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

A complete schedule for the three day period is enclosed. Please note the times and events that apply to you and mark them on your calendar. Do remember that activities proceed as planned, regardless of weather, so be prepared in case of rain.
If you have any questions about the procession, please contact the Grand Marshal, Professor Linda Caruso-Haviland (610/526-5208 or lcarusoh@brynmawr.edu) whose responsibility is the organization of the academic procession. For all other Commencement matters, please contact Lisa Zernicke at 610/526-5058 or email to roomres@brynmawr.edu. Thanks and have fun!

MORE INFORMATION

A second bulletin of information will be mailed in mid-April with details about regalia pick-up, request for accommodation for parking, seating, etc.
You may contact our office, Conferences and Events, at any time with questions or concerns. Our phone numbers are (610-526-) 7329 or 5058 and you can email us at roomres@brynmawr.edu.

Bryn Mawr College

Ph.D. CandidatesThe reception following Convocation on Saturday will take place in the Cloisters, the enclosed courtyard inside Thomas.

SCHEDULE

BRUNCH ON COMMENCEMENT SUNDAY

Wyndham will be serving brunch on Sunday by reservation only. Please contact Wyndham directly at x5236 (610-526-5236) to make reservations. The cost is $25 per person.

Erdman will be serving brunch as well. There are two seatings: the first is at 9:30am and the second is at 11:00am. The cost is $18 for adults and $11 for children, 12 years of age and younger.

REHEARSAL

FRIDAY 16 MAY AT 4:30PM AT TENT ON MERION GREEN

Attendance is required. Please bring academic cap only.

One of the advantages of Bryn Mawr’s small size is that at Commencement you are called to the platform to be hooded. This requires your attention and cooperation.

If for any reason you are unable to attend Commencement, you must write your Dean no later than Friday 2 May requesting permission to be absent. If it is not possible to be at rehearsal the Friday before Commencement, you must inform your Dean.

If you experience a last minute illness or other emergency that would prevent your being at Commencement, please notify the Office of Conferences and Events at once (610/526-5058).

Your presence at rehearsal is important because this is the time when the Chair of the General Faculty learns to match your name with your face and the correct pronunciation of your name. You in turn will learn what to do at the ceremony and where to line up to ensure that you get the correct seat.

PROCESSING

At rehearsal, Convocation and Commencement you will line up by department on Taylor walk. The order of procession will be with the student marshals assigned to the graduate students. Names will be in reverse alphabetical order by department.

If it is raining, line-up will be in the first floor corridors of Thomas. Please arrive by 1:45pm on Saturday and Sunday, find your place and get in line by 2:00pm sharp! If you need assistance, one of the student marshals with batons will be there to help.

On Commencement Sunday, the marshals will check to see if anyone is missing so that the order of “hooding” is not disrupted. If you acquire your own regalia, you must bring your hood to rehearsal on Friday so that it can be placed in the proper order.

ACADEMIC REGALIA

ALL BILLS MUST BE PAID TO THE COMPTROLLER AND ALL LIBRARY BOOKS RETURNED TO THE LIBRARY AND FINES PAID BEFORE YOU PICK UP REGALIA.

Academic regalia is provided by the College and will be distributed to Ph.D. candidates from the Campus Center as follows. Please note the times listed.

REGALIA DISTRIBUTION FROM CAMPUS CENTER:

Tuesday 13 May 12:00noon to 5:00pm

Wednesday 14 May 12:00noon to 3:00pm

Friday 16 May 12:00noon to 3:00pm

Each degree candidate is responsible for his/her own academic regalia and must pick it up in person, as it is particularly important that the cap be comfortable and the gown length appropriate.

Regalia must be returned to the Campus Center immediately after Commencement exercises on Sunday 18 May or a charge of $350 will be imposed.

SWSR degree recipients will gather immediately after Commencement exercises in the Cloisters for a class photograph. The photographer will be available for only a short time so please gather quickly for the photograph before you return your regalia.

Hoods, signifying the degree, are not worn either Saturday or Sunday. You will be hooded on the platform on Sunday. If you have purchased your own hood, please bring to rehearsal on Friday so that it may be filed in the proper order for Sunday’s ceremony. We cannot accept hoods on Sunday!

Gowns are worn closed.

Wear shoes that you can walk in comfortably over grass, up the ramp and across the stage (the gowns are black).

Caps are worn level, not tilted.

Tassels are worn over the left front of the cap.

INVITATIONS

Tickets are NOT required for attendance at Convocation or Commencement. Please inform family and friends that seats CANNOT be reserved in advance with signs, balloons, clothing, etc.

Reservations for the Sunday morning brunch at Wyndham should be made by calling Wyndham directly at x5236. The cost is $25 per person.

PHOTOGRAPHY

The College has contracted with Legacy Photographics to take a picture of each degree recipient shaking hands with President Vickers. The company will email you with information about how to purchase that picture. There is no obligation to do so.

A “photo zone” will be established on one side of the tent where family and friends can go to take a picture (there is a 2 minute maximum).

Family and friends will not be able to come down the center aisle to the front of the stage; please let them know.

REQUEST FOR ACCOMMODATIONS

If you or one of your guests has a disability and requires accommodation for events during the weekend, you will need to complete a Request for Accommodation Form. This form is enclosed.

A Request for Accommodation Form for special parking will need to be completed even if the car has handicapped-accessible license plates; demand far exceeds supply for the accessible spaces that currently exist on campus.

If sign language interpreters are needed, please let us know by 15 April.

EMERGENCIES

In the event of an emergency, please contact Public Safety or a marshal standing at the platform under the tent or seated in the front row.

General information about emergency plans will be relayed at rehearsal.

PARKING

Drivers may deposit passengers in the area between the Campus Center and Merion Hall.

For the convenience of drivers who park in remote parking lots, a campus shuttle will be available to take them to Merion Green.

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

A complete schedule for the three day period is enclosed. Please note the times and events that apply to you and mark them on your calendar. Do remember that activities proceed as planned, regardless of weather, so be prepared in case of rain.

MORE INFORMATION

A second bulletin of information will be mailed in mid-April with details about regalia pick-up, request for accommodation for parking, seating, etc.

You may contact our office, Conferences and Events, at any time with questions or concerns. Our phone numbers are (610-526-) 7329 or 5058 and you can email us at roomres@brynmawr.edu.