Academic Traditions

For centuries, pomp and circumstance have added color and dignity to the recognition of scholastic achievement. Modern academic dress evolved from caps and gowns worn in medieval universities, which were agencies of the church. Academic gowns distinguished university personnel from townspeople who also wore gowns for daily dress. The costumes of doctors and lesser clerics were not as elaborate as those prescribed for officials, but they were distinctive nonetheless. Through the centuries, the traditional pageantry has not changed much. In ancient times, each individual scholar wore special colors, fur and fabrics, as did his students. Since the traditions began, however, official standards allow the observer to identify more about the scholar.

 

Gowns

Three types of black gowns may be distinguished in UAF’s academic procession. Certificate, associate and baccalaureate gowns have long, pointed sleeves. Master’s gowns have oblong sleeves with an arc cut away in the front. Doctoral gowns are faced with velvet and have bell-shaped sleeves with three bars of velvet.

 

Hoods

UAF’s master’s and doctoral degree candidates will receive their hoods today, signifying they have gone beyond the bachelor’s degree to a higher level of academic achievement. UAF’s colors are blue and gold, and these colors line the inside of each hood. The velvet trim signifies the scholar’s field of study.

 

Academic hood colors
Master's degree All wear blue and gold satin.
Felt colors as follows:
Anthropology
White
Arctic and Northern Studies
White
Art
White
Atmospheric Sciences
Science Gold
Biochemistry & Nueroscience
Science Gold
Biological Sciences
Science Gold
Business Administraion
Drab
Chemistry
Science Gold
Civil Engineering
Orange
Communication, Professional
Crimson
Computer Science
Science Gold
Education - Counseling
Light Blue
Education - Elementary
Light Blue
Education - Secondary
Light Blue
Education - Special Education
Light Blue
Economics
Crimson
Electrical Engineering
Orange
English
White
English - Creative Writing
White
Fisheries
Science Gold
Geological Engineering
Orange
Geophysics
Science Gold
Geoscience
Science Gold
Indigenous Studies
Science Gold
Interdisciplinary Studies
White
Justice Administration
Midnight Blue
Linguistics
Citron
Marine Biology
Science Gold
Marine Policy
Science Gold
Marine Studies
Science Gold
Mathematics
Science Gold
Mechanical Engineering
Orange
Mining Engineering
Orange
Music, Music Performance
Pink
Natural Resources and Environment
Science Gold
Oceanography
Science Gold
One Health - Biomedical
Science Gold
One Health - Community Advocacy
Peacock Blue
Petroleum Engineering
Orange
Physics - Computational, Space
Science Gold
Rural Developement
Maize
Security and Disaster Management
Peacock Blue
Statistics, Data Science
Science Gold
Wildlife Biology
Science Gold

 

Mortarboards

The square Oxford cap, or mortarboard, is black and has a long tassel fastened to the middle of the top. You may notice the University of Alaska regents and some of the faculty wearing soft beret-style caps. Some colleges and universities use the soft beret, but the prevailing style of cap is the traditional mortarboard. For undergraduates receiving their first degree, the tassel is customarily worn on the right side and shifted to the left after receiving the diploma. At many institutions, colored tassels are worn to indicate the candidate’s school or college. At UAF, a blue and gold tassel is worn on the cap for all certificates and associate, baccalaureate and master’s degrees, and gold tassels are worn for all doctoral degrees. While you may not be able to identify the origins of each specific academic robe and hood appearing in today’s commencement ceremony, you can reflect that from the certificate recipient in a simple black gown to the doctor of philosophy in a velvet trimmed robe and colorful hood, students and professors alike are paying homage to more than 700 years of academic tradition. April 30, 2022 59 An academic legend tells of a wise old Greek who dressed his students in mason’s sackcloth robes and mortarboards because, he said, “Their destiny is to build. Some will build cities; some will build lives — perhaps one of them will build an empire; but all will be builders on the solid foundation of knowledge.”

 

Chancellor’s Medallion

During the Middle Ages, medallions signified membership in religious orders and workers’ guilds and, in the Renaissance, membership in elite orders of knighthood and prominence in government office. Today, colleges and universities strike medallions to commemorate important events and achievements or to designate a person of consequence. The UAF chancellor’s medallion signifies the authority vested in the chancellor. The chancellor wears a metal alloy medallion designed in 2016 by Todd Sherman, a professor of art and dean of UAF’s College of Liberal Arts. The medallion features the head of a polar bear — a nanook — based on an art piece also made by Sherman. The medallion is the result of a collaboration between Sherman, computer art student Lucas Cheek ’14, Library Graphic Designer Emeritus Dixon Jones and Eric Johansen ’85, a mechanical technician in the College of Engineering and Mines. Gwich’in Athabascan artist Dixie Alexander used dentalia shells, glass pony beads, crow beads and smoke-tanned moosehide to create the neckpiece that holds the medallion.

 

University Mace

Bodyguards of French and English monarchs carried ceremonial war clubs, or maces, in the Middle Ages. Later, the mace became an important symbol of office in civil processions and academic pageantry. The grand marshal carries the University of Alaska mace in the commencement procession and places it in a stand on the stage during commencement ceremonies to signify the importance of the occasion. The mace was commissioned by the University of Alaska Alumni Association in honor of the university’s 1967 golden anniversary and was created by UAF Professor Emeritus Ron Senungetuk using silver, jade and rosewood. At the top of the mace, a disk in the center of two open orbs depicts the University of Alaska seal on one side and the Alaska state seal on the other. The materials were selected to symbolize qualities of durability, strength and beauty