Ceremony contains traditions, changes

In 1830, a small class of nearly half a dozen students received the very first degrees from IU.

One hundred eighty-one years later, things have changed in some big ways.

This weekend, three ceremonies at Assembly Hall — one graduate and two undergraduate ceremonies — will help thousands of students become IU alumni.

“There are lots of aspects to commencement,” said Robin Roy Gress, secretary of the board of trustees and director of university ceremonies. “The IU Alumni Association has been in charge of commencement for decades.”

But while the same organizations have been responsible for the various aspects of spring commencement, the final product has not always been the same, and there have always been obstacles to overcome.

“Commencements have been held in any number of locations,” Gress said.

When Gress became director of ceremonies for IU in 1998, commencement was held outside in Memorial Stadium. Inclement weather, however, forced the ceremony inside.

“The biggest single issue we’ve had has been weather,” she said. “I’m told in 1996, before I came, that it sleeted some. It was really, really cold. Degrees were conferred in a very big hurry.”

Other changes, Gress said, have come from personal decision, including this year’s first three-ceremony weekend.

“The president wanted to be able to focus more closely on undergraduates at an undergraduate ceremony, the graduates at a graduate ceremony,” she said. “This is one of the biggest changes I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”

Gress cites religion as another difference after 181 years.

“Commencement addresses were sermons,” she said. “This is a public, secular university. We do include an invocation, in part because it’s largely tradition.”

For more information on the commencement, visit www.indiana.edu/~ceremony/.