Interim Provost Forrest Maltzman asked the 317 doctoral candidates at the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony Thursday to uphold academic integrity and broaden their academic horizons.
“Very likely, most of you here today will be leaders in the community you choose,” Maltzman said. “Lead by example.”
Maltzman’s message was in three parts: keep learning, broaden your horizons and always uphold principles of academic integrity. He stressed the importance of “breaking out of the disciplinary box” that often traps scholars, and urged students to explore new fields over the course of their lives.
“Kindle again and again the flame of knowledge,” Maltzman said.
Lastly, Maltzman emphasized the importance of morals as crucial cornerstones of character in future leaders.
The doctoral charge is an integral part of the roughly 900-year-old traditional ceremony, that first began when doctoral students started using the hood to display their academic regalia. Today, the trims of each hood are colored different to indicate what degree the holder bears.
The result was a rainbow procession of hoods and robes – dark blue for the doctor of philosophy and psychology degrees, orange for the doctor of science, light blue for the doctor of education – that filtered into the Smith Center to the pomp provided by Potomac Brass.
The dean of each school called out the names of their students one by one to the center, where the faculty adviser that worked closely with the student hooded each with the color of their degree.
During the ceremony, former Provost Steven Lerman hooded his wife Lori J. Lerman for her Doctor in Nursing Practice, taking the place of her advocate Christine Pintz.
Before closing his message to the graduates, Maltzman also added a quick reference to Steve Jobs.
“Make good use of your degrees, make good use of your lives, and think differently,” Maltzman said.