Helping bring spring commencement back to campus
Commencement is a big time of the year for the Office of the Registrar (RO) and campus, with planning for the event starting months in advance. Many team members from the RO enjoyed helping make the day special for students and assisting with the ceremony in various ways. Being able to help with these events across campus not only aligns with the office’s mission and core values, but it is meaningful to team members. Below are some of the highlights of the RO’s involvement in commencement this year.
In Spring 2022, the RO implemented changes to the diploma cover assembly and distribution processes. Thanks to financial support from RO leadership, we were able to shift assembly of the diploma covers from RO student staff to vendor staff. This saved hundreds of hours of assembly by our student team, which allowed them to focus more on their ever-expanding responsibilities for front-line services.
In collaboration with the Commencement Office and the University BookStore, the office also (mostly) centralized distribution of diploma covers with cap and gown pickup for Camp Randall Stadium ceremony graduates. The distribution had been decentralized by school/college since the Camp Randall Stadium ceremonies were reinstated, and was disrupted when commencement ceremonies were virtual. We’re hopeful that the University Book Store will remain receptive to this more streamlined approach for future spring graduations.
Three of our student employees, Brandt, Maya and Maddie, took the opportunity to assist with the behind the scenes of the ceremony. They helped out the day before and of commencement, assisting Scott Owczarek and other commencement staff with organizing and executing plans for the big day.
“Working at the RO as a student employee is a rewarding experience, especially when you can assist with special projects. Some highlights from the day were meeting with the Keynote Speaker Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Chancellor Rebecca Blank.”
It was exciting for them to see the ceremony from another perspective, as they will soon get to enjoy it and participate as graduating students.
Associate Registrars Beth Warner and Will Lipske joined the commencement ceremony celebrations for both Friday evening’s Doctoral, MFA and Medical Professional Degree Candidate ceremony and Saturday’s Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Law Degree Candidate ceremony. For the Friday ceremony, Beth and Will arrived at the Kohl Center in advance of the ceremony to collaborate with colleagues in Athletics and FP&M. They ensured diploma covers arrived on-time and were ready for the evening’s ceremony, as well as communicated changes to graduate seating arrangements. During the ceremony itself, they worked with the Secretary of the Faculty to ensure the proper Dean was ready to congratulate their students and passed diploma covers to Scott as part of the graduate march.
As part of their roles for the Saturday ceremony, they each served as “Marshal Captains.” In this capacity, they each assisted with the on-boarding and training of numerous marshals who volunteered to assist with the ceremony at Camp Randall. Before and during the ceremony, they welcomed graduates, assisted fellow marshals with troubleshooting questions from graduates and guests, and escalated items needing attention from other authorities (e.g. Athletics, Medical).
With the return of commencement ceremonies to campus everyone was excited, including those in the RO team members who were able to help make the event so special for the students.