This weekend, I like thousands of others gathered for college graduations. This is a time of great joy. For myself I watched my oldest son walk across the stage at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma where I have taught for the past 13 years. Best graduation I have attended. I walked across a similar stage 24 years ago at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. That prestigious institution awarded its first degrees in 1700, and while in many ways the two graduations looked similar the 300-year time span has also brought about some major changes.The look is the same as the basic academic regalia has not changed much since before even colonial times. Academic wear in Europe was taken from religious clerical robes worn during the Middle Ages and brought over to the colonies when institutes of higher learning were developed starting with Harvard in 1636 followed by my own William and Mary in 1696.Over the years the gowns have standardized, allowing for identification of degrees and academic fields. In 1893 several of the Ivies got together and created the Intercollegiate Code on Academic Costume which identified the degree, subject and alma mater. The degree is shown by the robes. The bachelor’s degree is the basic black, or school colors, robe everyone is familiar with. The master’s degree is the same robe but with long pointy sleeves. The Ph.D. is a much fancier robe and includes velvet strips on the sleeves and velvet down the front. Most robes are black, but some schools do give the option of school colors. The color of the velvet represents the type of doctorate earned, most are blue for the Doctor of Philosophy or Ph.D. The Ph.D. also wears a multi-sided tam instead of the mortarboard.The hood is much more complicated. The colors represent where and what you studied. My own hood is red and white. Red for the University of Arkansas where I earned my Ph.D. and white for humanities. Some fields are much more specific than history.Other traditions are much newer. For instance, Pomp and Circumstances was first performed in 1902 to honor the coronation of King Edward VII of Great Britain. The next year Yale invited its composer over to America to award him an honorary degree and so naturally played the song. Once Yale played it everyone else followed suit.One of the major changes ...
