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COMMENCEMENT TRADITIONS
Today’s 194th Commencement
exercises at Indiana University
Bloomington mark the joyous
culmination and proud recognition
of our graduates’ academic
achievements. The ceremony is rich
in academic tradition and protocol.
ACADEMIC ATTIRE
The origins of academic dress date
back to the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries, when universities were
taking form. The ordinary dress
of the scholar, whether student or
teacher, was the dress of a cleric.
Long gowns were worn and may
have been necessary for warmth in
unheated buildings.
The assignment of colors to signify
certain faculties was a much later
development, and one that was
standardized in the United States in
the late nineteenth century. White,
taken from the white fur trimming
of the Oxford and Cambridge
bachelor’s hoods, was assigned to
arts and letters. Red, one of the
traditional colors of the church,
went to theology. Green, the color
of medieval herbs, was adopted
for medicine, and olive, because it
was so close to green, was given to
pharmacy. Golden yellow, standing
for the wealth that scientific
research has produced, was assigned
to the sciences.
Gowns
All candidates for degrees and those
who hold these degrees, including
university officials and faculty and
visiting dignitaries, wear traditional
gowns. Most are black, but some
are brightly colored. The style of the
gown indicates the highest degree
held by the wearer, and the colors
represent institutions and fields
of study.
The gowns for bachelor’s degree
and associate degree recipients have
a closed front and open sleeves.
At Indiana University, candidates for
bachelor’s and associate degrees also
wear crimson “stoles of gratitude,”
which they may keep as a memento
of the day or present as a token of
thanks to anyone who has guided
them on their path to graduation.
The master’s degree gown has
extremely long, closed sleeves, from
which the arms extend through a
slit at the wrist; the end of the sleeve
is square, with an arc cut away just
above the bottom. The doctor’s gown
has velvet panels down the front and
voluminous bell-shaped sleeves on
which there are three velvet bars.
Caps, Tassels, and Hoods
Candidates for associate and
bachelor’s degrees wear square-
topped caps—also called
mortarboards—which are adorned
with colored tassels appropriate to
the school or division from which
they are graduating. The same colors
are used throughout the United
States. They are:
Arts and Sciences—White
Business—Drab
Education—Light Blue
In formatics, Computing, and
Engineering—Copper
Music—Pink
Nursing—Apricot
Optometry—Aqua
Pu blic and Environmental
Affairs—Peacock Blue
Public Health—Salmon
Social Work—Citron
Velvet-lined hoods are worn by
holders of master’s and doctoral
degrees. The master’s hood extends
to the middle of the back, is edged
in velvet in the same color as the
tassel, and is lined with colors
representing the institution from
which the degree was earned.
Indiana University hoods are lined
with cream and crimson.
The doctor’s hood is longer, has
wider velvet edging, and fully
exposes the lining.
Honor Cords
and Medallions
Graduating with Distinction, High
Distinction, and Highest Distinction
Indiana University holds all of its
graduates in high esteem and takes
an added measure of pride in those
who have excelled academically.
Candidates who graduate with
Distinction, High Distinction, and
Highest Distinction are entitled
to wear on their left shoulders the
fourragère, cream and crimson
cords. In addition, on some
IU campuses, certain students are
entitled to wear gold medallions
indicating that they are graduating
with honors. The recorders in
each school distribute fourragères
to qualified students before
Commencement. The requirements
for graduating with honors are
different for each school.
IU Bloomington College, School,
and Departmental Honor Cords
Some schools and departments
offer honors programs for students
who excel academically and seek an
enriched and challenging learning
environment. Graduates who fulfill
the requirements of these programs
receive a notation on their diplomas
and are eligible to wear gold or blue
honor cords, which are provided by
the participating colleges, schools,
and departments.
Insignia from Greek Honor
Societies
A wide array of honors organizations
recognize outstanding achievement
in service, philanthropy, and
scholarship. Indiana University is
proud of all of its students who fulfill
the requirements for membership
in these important societies,
but on Commencement day the
university singles out those honor
societies that emphasize academic
achievement. Graduates who have
been admitted to these societies
may wear the appropriate cords at
Commencement.
Honor Cords for Veterans and
Service Members
Graduating students who have
served or are currently serving in the
U.S. Armed Forces wear red, white,
and blue cords.
HONORARY DEGREE CANDIDATE,
UNDERGRADUATE CEREMONY
JAMES T. MORRIS
Native Hoosier and Indiana
University graduate James Morris
has a long and distinguished history
of service to IU and to the state
of Indiana. Currently Morris is
vice chairman of Pacers Sports &
Entertainment, which owns the
Indiana Pacers and the Indiana
Fever professional basketball teams.
Born in Terre Haute, Morris studied
political science at IU Bloomington
and was active in student
government. He graduated in 1965
with a Bachelor of Arts and earned a
Master of Business Administration
from Butler University in 1970.
From 1967 to 1973, he served
as chief of staff to the late U.S.
Senator Richard G. Lugar when
Lugar was mayor of Indianapolis.
Morris was associated with Lilly
Endowment Inc. from 1973
through 1989, serving as its
president for six years. At the
endowment, Morris was engaged in
community development, expanding
opportunities for young people,
and assisting with its international
programs. He was a part of the
endowment’s special commitment
to the city of Indianapolis and the
state of Indiana to strengthen higher
education, including IUPUI, and
build a partnership mentality where
all sectors of society would come
together to move things forward.
In 1989, he became chairman
and chief executive officer of
IWC Resources Corporation and
Indianapolis Water Company.
In 2002, Morris was named
executive director of the United
Nations’ World Food Programme,
the largest humanitarian agency
in the world. In that position, he
oversaw food aid distribution to
more than 110 million people each
year, in approximately 80 countries.
In 2003, Morris led the biggest
food operation in history, providing
nutrition services to nearly 27
million Iraqis after the United
States–led invasion of Iraq. During
his five years with the World Food
Programme, he also served as the
secretary general’s special envoy for
several southern African countries,
including Lesotho, Swaziland,
Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Malawi, and Mozambique, focusing
on the triple-threat crisis of HIV,
drought, and their ultimate impact
on civil society.
Morris joined Pacers Sports &
Entertainment in 2007, serving as
its president from 2009 through
2018.
After his years of supporting IU as a
professional, alumnus, and parent,
in 1996 IU alumni elected Morris
to the Board of Trustees, and he
served in that capacity until 2002.
Morris was then appointed as an IU
trustee in 2013 by Governor Mike
Pence and reappointed in 2016 and
2019 by Governor Eric Holcomb.
He served two terms as chair of the
trustees. In 2022, Morris retired
from the board. He also served as a
trustee of Indiana State University
for eight years, including a term as
its board chair.
Throughout his career, Morris has
lent his expertise and leadership to
numerous nonprofit organizations,
including the American Red Cross,
Butler University, the Boy Scouts
of America, and the U.S. Olympic
Committee.
Morris has received many awards
and recognitions from Indiana
University, including the IU
Bloomington College of Arts and
Sciences Distinguished Alumni
Award (2005); the Kelley School
of Business Academy of Alumni
Fellows (inducted in 2001); the IU
Alumni Association Distinguished
Alumni Service Award (1991);
the Indiana University Herman B.
Wells Visionary Award (2011); and
the IUPUI Spirit of Philanthropy
Award (1995 and 2003). He
received the Sachem Award from
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb
in 2021. He has been awarded
the Sagamore of the Wabash by
several Indiana governors, as well
as the Indiana Black Expo’s Spirit
of Freedom Award (2015). He
has received numerous honorary
degrees and serves as the United
States’ permanent representative to
the Executive Board of UNICEF. He
is also a member of the Council on
Foreign Relations.
Amir Pasic, Eugene R. Tempel
Dean of the Indiana University
Lilly Family School of Philanthropy,
writes, “Jim is the best of what
it means to be a Hoosier. He has
championed key institutions and
leaders, to bring out the best for his
beloved university, his great state,
and the cause of alleviating hunger
and want wherever he encountered
it. It is difficult to overstate Jim
Morris’s contributions to Indiana
University, to our state, and to
humanitarianism worldwide.”
Morris and his wife, Jackie, an IU
alumna, have been married for 58
years. They have three children,
all IU alumni, each married to IU
alumni, and eight grandchildren.
Their oldest grandson, JT Morris, is
also graduating from IU at this very
Commencement.