Faculty Information for Commencement

Arrival Time: One hour before the ceremony. (Lead Faculty Marshals)
                     Forty-five minute before the ceremony. (Faculty Marshals)
Marshal Parking: Faculty Court South
Robing Area: Mitchell Center, Room 1102
Line-up Area: Mitchell Center, Room 1101

Instructions

Faculty process down the Arena center aisle, split left and right, proceed to the stairwells behind the stage, ascend the stairs and enter into appropriate Concourse-level Portals for seating.

An instructional sheet will be e-mailed to you prior to the commencement ceremony. Please read carefully and contact the Registrar’s Office, (251) 460-6251, Option 3, if you have any questions.

At the end of the ceremony, return your stoles to one of the lead marshals.

NOTE: If you cannot attend the ceremony, notify the Registrar’s Office, (251) 460-6251, Option 3, no later than noon on Thursday, December 3.

There will be a voluntary Faculty Marshal meeting on Wednesday, December 9, at 3:00 p.m. in the Mitchell Center arena if you wish to practice.

Arrival Time: Thirty minutes before the ceremony
Marshal Parking: Faculty Court South
Robing Area: Mitchell Center, Room 1615
Line-up Area: Mitchell Center, Room 1613

Instructions

NOTE: Registrar staff will be in the arena from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. on  Wednesday, December 9, if you wish to practice.

 • Obtain mace thirty minutes before the ceremony from Mitchell Center, Room 1613.

• Meet students at northeast entrance of the Mitchell Center Arena ten minutes before the ceremony.

• Lead students into arena precisely at the start of the ceremony.

• Stand at bottom of Platform center steps (stage right) while the faculty split into separate rows and marches to the stairwells. Remain at the bottom of center steps until the platform party arrives.

• Follow platform party up center steps to stage. Go to Row 4 (at edge of stage) and place mace in stand, and be seated on Row 4.

• At the end of the ceremony, lead the platform party off the stage and down the center aisle exiting the arena out of the northwest portal.

• Return mace to Mitchell Center, Room 1613.

Arrival Time: One hour and fifteen minutes before the ceremony
Marshal Parking: Faculty Court South
Line-up Area: HKS Building, East Gym

Instructions

An instructional sheet will be e-mailed to you prior to the commencement ceremony. Please read carefully and contact the Registrar’s Office, (251) 460-6251, Option 3, if you have any questions.

NOTE: If you cannot attend the ceremony, notify the Registrar’s Office, (251) 460-6251, Option 3, no later than noon on TBA.

There will be a voluntary Student Marshal meeting on Wednesday, December 9, at 3:30 p.m. in the Mitchell Center arena if you wish to practice.

Arrival Time: Thirty minutes before the ceremony
Parking: Faculty Court South
Line-up Area: Mitchell Center, Room 1106

Instructions

• Report to Mitchell Center, Room 1106 for distribution of gonfalons and line-up.

• Students will process to the Mitchell Center and arrive at approximately five minutes before the ceremony.

• As students process into the building, you merge into the lineup in front of your dean and the student carrying the sign for your college.

• NOTE: The order of entering the arena: Chief Marshal, the University Gonfalonier, College Gonfalonier, Dean, Students for their college..

• NOTE: Gonfaloniers will receive an instruction sheet the week before commencement detailing the order of the colleges on the arena floor.

• You will remain in place for the platform party processional, Presentation of Colors, the National Anthem, and Invocation.

• When Interim President Smith directs everyone to be seated, you will be seated behind the student section on the arena floor.

• In the recessional, you will follow the platform party out of the arena and exit, out of the same door you entered. Note, the platform party will be exiting to the left.

• You do not recess with the gonfalons.

NOTE: If you cannot attend the ceremony, notify the Registrar’s Office, (251) 460-6251, Option 3, no later than noon on TBA.

There will be a voluntary Gonfalonier meeting on Wednesday, December 9, at 2:30 p.m. in the Mitchell Center arena if you wish to practice.

Arrival Time: Thirty minutes before the ceremony
Robing Area:  Mitchell Center, Rooms 1615 and 1616
Lineup Area:  John Counts hallway

Instructions Enter the arena at ten minutes prior to the ceremony through the faculty/platform entrance. At five minutes prior to the ceremony, as students process into the building, the gonfalonier will merge into the lineup in front of the first student for the college. When the gonfalonier for your college enters the arena, follow the gonfalonier and lead the students up the center aisle. You will go to the front of the arena and stand at your designated place facing the students. Please remain standing for the processional of the students, faculty and the platform party. As the last person in the platform party goes onto the stage, follow and go to the second row to be seated.

NOTE: Registrar staff will be in the arena at 2:00 p.m. on  Wednesday, December 9, if you wish to practice.

Arrival Time: One hour before the ceremony
Parking: Faculty Court South
Location: HKS Building, West Gym

Instructions

A memo with instructions will be e-mailed to you prior to the commencement ceremony. Please read carefully and contact the Registrar’s Office, (251) 460-6251, Option 3, if you have any questions.

NOTE: If you cannot attend the ceremony, notify the Registrar’s Office, (251) 460-6251, Option 3, no later than noon on TBA.

Beginning with the Spring 2001 Commencement at the University of South Alabama, the platform party and students proceed to their respective places behind gonfalons. Gonfalons are the flags or banners, hung from crosspieces on poles, used since medieval times in the republics of Italy as symbols of state or office.

Universities and colleges around the world have adopted gonfalons to increase the ceremonial nature of commencement exercises. The top portion of each college's gonfalon is the designated color for each unit; white is the background color for each of the college's symbols, as well as one of the University's colors.

The gonfalons are used during graduation ceremonies to symbolize the different academic areas within the University. Please note that the gonfalons are not "logos" for the individual colleges and schools and should not replace the USA logo in school/college letterhead, publications or other related uses.

To help identify each college gonfalon, a description of each follows:

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University Gonfalon

The University of South Alabama's colors of red, white, and blue predominate with the University's official seal in the center, white section.

Open full-size image USA Gonfalon

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College Gonfalons

Allied Health

This symbol depicts the many healthcare professions that make up the healthcare team. The supporting hands and the red center represent the caring nature and the heart of the various professions represented in the College of Allied Health professions.

Open full-size image Allied Health Gonfalon

Arts and Sciences

The globe in the College of Arts and Sciences' gonfalon symbolizes study of human societies, cultures, and behaviors. The microscope represents the scientific study of nature. The paintbrush, palette, and the lyre connote artistic performance and appreciation of the arts, and the book is symbolic of a life informed by learning.

Open full-size image Arts and Science Gonfalon

Business

The Mitchell College of Business uses the symbol of a club which is associated with money, wealth, work and luck. The color purple symbolizes the rank of authority. The gold lozenges represent the flow of order.

Open full-size image Business Gonfalon

School of Computing

The design of the School of Computing is made up of two symbols appropriate to the School: the Flame of Knowledge and the Globe. The Flame of Knowledge is derived from three distinct disciplines: Science represented by the Blue, Engineering represented by the Orange, and Business represented by the tan. The Globe symbolizes both the wide reaching effect of the discipline and the diversity of the school's population.

Open full-size image School of Computing Gonfalon

Continuing Education

The gonfalon for the School of Continuing Education and Special Programs has three elements: a reaching hand, a star and a circle of blue. The hand reaching for a star superimposed on the circle of blue symbolizes the continuing quest for enlightenment.

Open full-size image Continuing Education Gonfalon

Education

The flourishing flame blazoned with red and light blue signifies the burning zeal of the three missions of education -- teaching, research and service. The hands hold the spiritual, social and intellectual flame of education.

Open full-size image Education Gonfalon

Engineering

The earth is the ground stability, a foundation for life and for the structure of man and nature. The College of Engineering invites discovery and investigation into the realm of ever-changing worldwide technologies. The bridge is a symbol of engineering design. It is the essence of learning, the container of intellect and the spirit of wisdom that creates destinies.

Open full-size image Engineering Gonfalon

Medicine

The caduceus is a wing-topped staff interwound by two snakes and was carried by Hermes, Greek messenger of the Gods. In early cultures the intertwined snakes symbolizes healing. The caduceus has been a symbol of medicine since the 16th century.

Open full-size image Medicine Gonfalon

Nursing

Three blue stars blazoned with gold symbolize caring, innovation, and empowerment. The two shafts of wheat represent nourishment and strength, while the globe illustrates the universal presence of nursing. The burning lamp of Florence Nightingale and the red cross signify the history and origins of nursing.

Open full-size image Nursing Gonfalon

Graduate School

The columns are indicative of the pursuit of advanced knowledge built on the strong foundation of earlier educational attainments. The earth represents the wide range of studies pursued in graduate studies and their broad applications for the betterment of the world. The oak spray represents strength and endurance in pursuit of goals.

 

Open full-size image Graduate School Gonfalon