University commencement returns to historic Voorhees Mall Archived article from Apr 26, 2004 By Richard Gorman   Rutgers graduates march through the wrought iron gates of Old Queen's on the College Avenue campus in this photo circa 1890. This year, for Rutgers' 238th commencement, this special event will return to Voorhees Mall. University officials are hoping to enliven the ceremony with the new venue, a guest speaker and shorter program. At a glance: Rutgers University’s 238th anniversary commencement Date: May 20, 2004 Time: 9 a.m. Place: Voorhees Mall on the College Avenue campus in New Brunswick (located in the block bounded by Hamilton Street, Seminary Place, George Street and College Avenue) Parking: Rutgers will provide guaranteed parking for commencement participants and their guests in Parking Lot 101 on the Livingston campus. Shuttle buses will leave the parking lot for the commencement site every 15 minutes (a 20-minute trip) between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. There is no charge for parking or the shuttle bus. Faculty and staff who normally park on the College Avenue campus should use the Rutgers Stadium parking lot on the Busch campus. Rain: In the event of inclement weather, the university commencement will be moved to the Louis Brown Athletic Center at Avenue E and Hospital Road on the Livingston College campus in Piscataway. If severe weather is forecast for May 20, tune to radio stations WCTC (880 AM), WRNJ, WRSU, WINS and NJ 101.5 FM on May 19, or contact the Rutgers Information and Referral Center at 732-932-INFO (4636). For the first time in 26 years, the Rutgers University commencement will return to Voorhees Mall, adjacent to Old Queen’s. “In many ways, Voorhees Mall represents the historic and academic heartland of the university,” said President Richard L. McCormick. “It is altogether fitting that the many diverse elements of our university come together at this historic location for our annual celebration of academic achievement.” The new venue is one of several commencement changes implemented this year in hopes of enlivening and invigorating the ceremony. After trading the expansive Louis Brown Athletic Center for the inviting green of Voorhees Mall, university officials arranged for a commencement speaker. They selected Robert Pinsky, America’s only three-term poet laureate and one of the most accomplished and celebrated living Rutgers alumni. “The president would like to present an event that is very ceremonial, with all of the accompanying pomp and circumstance, but much more upbeat, something that people will look forward to with great anticipation,” said Leslie A. Fehrenbach, secretary to the boards of trustees and governors and organizer of this year’s commencement. “Commencement is a special day for graduates and their families,” Fehrenbach said. “We want the last college memory for students to be as rewarding and pleasant as possible.” At Rutgers’ 238th commencement May 20, President McCormick will confer 600 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees on candidates selected by deans to represent their colleges and schools. In total next month, 11,146 degrees — the largest Rutgers class ever — will be presented at 14 convocations. The practice of awarding diplomas at individual convocations began in 1972, when university officials realized that 6,000 students could not be accommodated at one ceremony. “Over the years, the university commencement has changed to reflect the tenor of the times,” says Seth Gopin, director of global programs. Gopin has served as a marshal or head marshal at 24 university commencements in his 25 years at Rutgers. “One of the great things about Rutgers is that it has evolved,” he says. “It’s not fixed at any one time.” It has evolved, indeed. No one is more familiar with the university and its traditions than Professor Emeritus Richard P. McCormick, the university historian and father of Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick. The elder McCormick is the author of “Rutgers, a Bicentennial History,” a comprehensive examination of the university’s first 200 years. Professor Emeritus McCormick cites several mileposts on the road from colonial to modern times. The first graduating class, the Queen’s College Class of 1774, consisted of one student. In 1948, the university commencement brought together the Newark and New Brunswick campuses for the first time. By 1949, so many veterans were graduating that the university commencement was moved from Voorhees Mall to Rutgers Stadium, the only venue capable of accommodating 10,000 guests. In 1967, the national anthem became part of the ceremony. Through it all, one tradition remained constant: the age-old mix of joy and reverence. “No tradition associated with Rutgers has a longer or more meaningful history than that of commencement, a ritual that has celebrated the academic achievement of countless generations of students,” Professor Emeritus McCormick says. Beyond recognizing graduates’ accomplishments, commencement may be an even more joyous occasion for the parents who sent the students off to college. It’s also the ideal time to honor the faculty for its hard work, a practice the Rutgers historian says dates back to the 1960s. And, it’s an opportunity to pay tribute to society’s heroes and heroines with an honorary degree. Fehrenbach, the commencement organizer, is planning for an audience of 3,000 at the 2004 ceremony. In addition to the representative undergraduate, graduate and doctoral candidates from colleges, campuses and graduate and professional schools, the university will pay tribute to eight honorary degree candidates. While preparations for this year’s commencement are in the final stages, the task of determining the format of future university commencements has been entrusted to a special committee President McCormick appointed in February. Not surprisingly, Seth Gopin serves as its chairman. A commencement head marshal, Gopin is an unabashed fan of the ceremony. “I love graduation. I love academic ceremonies,” he says. “For many people, commencement can seem like a chore. But I think it’s stunning, and I want to make sure we do the best job possible.” The 23-member committee, representing academic and administrative units, undergraduates and graduate students on every campus and at every college, will review the university’s practices and make recommendations to the president on restructuring the university commencement for 2005 and beyond. In his invitation letter to committee members, President McCormick said, “I am asking this committee to evaluate the culture of graduation at Rutgers and explore how best to restructure the university commencement ceremony to bring honor to Rutgers as well as to make it fulfilling for all the participants.” While past university commencements focused largely on awarding graduate degrees, especially doctorates, Gopin said the time may have come to broaden the list of conferees. “Maybe it’s time to honor the undergraduates in a more significant way and some of the other groups that we celebrate that day,” he says. Pnsky is the first guest speaker in 12 years at a Rutgers University commencement. He is a member of the Rutgers College Class of 1962 and the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni. Many people are drawn to commencement ceremonies by the speaker, usually a person of national or international standing. “In the past 20-odd years, I have seen crossing the stage at Rutgers supreme court justices, Nobel Prize winners and luminaries in medicine,” Gopin says. “These are people who have changed the world in fundamental ways. Someday, I would hope to see 15,000 to 20,000 people at a university commencement, people who will come to Rutgers because they want to hear what this world-class person has to say to us.” Rutgers University’s commencement has undergone many changes in venue and format over the past two centuries. No one has been a more astute observer of this evolution than Professor Emeritus Richard P. McCormick, the university historian. Here are some commencement highlights: In 1774, the graduating class of Queen’s College consisted of one student, Matthew Leydt. Before 1913, commencement took place in the Ballantine Gymnasium, which later burned to the ground. A portion still survives in the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum. In the 1920s, the locale shifted to the Second Reformed Church, then at George and Albany streets. In the 1930s, commencement moved to the College Avenue Gym, constructed in 1932 to replace the Ballantine Gym. In 1948, commencement was to take place on the Voorhees Mall, but inclement weather forced a last-minute relocation to the College Avenue Gym. Gen. Dwight D.Eisenhower received an honorary degree and delivered an impromptu, six-minute address. The 1948 university commencement also brought together the Newark and New Brunswick campuses for the first time. Camden would join later. In 1949, commencement moved from Voorhees Mall to Rutgers Stadium to accommodate 1,666 degree candidates — mostly World War II veterans — and 10,000 guests. In 1967, the national anthem was sung for the first time at the ceremony. In 1968, a gonfalonier appeared with the university gonfalon followed by gonfalons for each academic unit. Bearing a mace in a dignified manner near the head of the procession was another innovation. The announcement of faculty honors recognizing faculty members of distinction also was added about this time. Rutgers Stadium accommodated successive commencements through 1971. In 1972, the ceremony returned to Voorhees Mall. The university’s schools and colleges adopted the practice of holding their own convocation ceremonies. Advanced degrees were conferred on 1,800 men and women in the morning and 4,000 baccalaureate degrees were conferred at individual convocations. In 1975, rain forced the university commencement to be moved from Voorhees Mall to the College Avenue Gym. In 1978, the university commencement at Voorhees Mall was shortened due to rain. In 1979, in an effort to avoid a last-minute relocation because of rain, the university commencement moved to the Louis Brown Athletic Center, more commonly known as the RAC, on the Livingston campus. In 2004, the university commencement will return to Voorhees Mall. In the event of rain, the ceremony will take place at the RAC.

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