In 1830, IU only consisted of three professors and two buildings. The president, all faculty members and all graduates delivered speeches in Greek and Latin.
Until 1892 every graduating senior made a speech at the commencement. The President of the University usually gave a Baccalaureate Sermon which was delivered a day or two before the commencement ceremonies.
Dunn went on to become a lawyer and serve as a colonel during the Civil War. Stockwell became a medical doctor and a member of the Indiana General Assembly. Hummer became a minister. Rollins moved on to become a lawyer and later, as a U.S. congressman, he expressed support for the 13th Amendment and President Abraham Lincoln in the abolishment slavery. This is all according to a commencement speech that was delivered by Gerald L. Bepko, the interim IU President in 2003.
The commencement was an all-day event. It was similar to a holiday. Businesses closed, bands played and people came from all over to dress up and watch the ceremonies, according to an Indiana Alumni Magazine article.
During the 1800s, commencement ceremonies were held in a location called the “Chapel,” according to various archived letters.
“The Chapel was filled at an early hour to overflowing, every seat and standing position being filled to the utmost capacity, and many could not get inside the Chapel at all,” stated an article printed in the Bloomington Republican June 30 1866.
The class of 1896 was the first class graduating from IU to wear caps and gowns for the commencement ceremony.
This weekend, IU Bloomington will award 8,562 degrees during three different commencement ceremonies and on two different days in Assembly Hall. This year, 18,499 will be eligible to receive IU degrees.
The photos displayed on this page show the history and traditions of IU commencements since the first known photos were taken.
182 years of IU commencements
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