Walter Iwanenko, Ph.D

Prayer of Sending Forth

The Bishop:

God, our Heavenly Father, we praise you for creating us in your image and likeness. In your generous Providence, you allow Gannon University to be a community where this great truth of human dignity is proclaimed, learned and lived. You wish Gannon to be a place where our students can seek and find you. With grateful hearts, we thank you for sustaining our graduates with your love and your truth.

All respond: Amen

The Bishop:

Lord Jesus Christ, by your death and resurrection you redeemed a fallen human family. Be with our graduates as they continue to discern what is right and good and true in the midst of the confusion and tensions in our world. Help us to build a culture where each human life, no matter how vulnerable, may be respected and protected from degradation and violence. Lord, be our way, our truth and our life.

All respond: Amen

The Bishop:

Come, Holy Spirit, bestow upon our graduates soundness of mind and holiness of life. With the aid of your spiritual gifts, prompt them to integrate their faith into their lifestyles, their work, and their relationships.

Help them to value the service of others over selfish gain.

Come, O Spirit, enkindle in them the fire of your love.

All respond: Amen Faculty, Staff, Parents recite together:

Lord God,

You accompany us at each moment of our journey through life.

Continue to guide our graduates in the paths they have chosen.

May your truth purify their values.

May your wisdom enlighten their decisions. May your goodness be the foundation of their relationships.

May your love be the consolation of their souls. Be at their side in difficulty.

Prompt their generosity in prosperity.

Deepen their humility in success.

All respond: Amen

The Bishop:

May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

All respond: Amen

Academic Regalia in American Universities

In 1895, the Intercollegiate Commission presented to American institutions of higher learning the Intercollegiate Code. Today, this code provides for three types of gowns. Those for bachelors are made of black material and have long, pointed sleeves. The master’s gown is made with an oblong sleeve, open at the wrist. The rear part of its oblong shape is a square cut and the front part has an arc cutaway. The doctor’s gown is made with bell-shaped sleeves and like the master’s gown, it is designed so that it can be worn open or closed.

The black oxford cap is worn for all degrees, but only the doctor’s cap may be made of velvet. Only doctors and presidents of colleges may wear a gold tassel on the cap. It is the hood which is the most important and distinctive feature of the American code.

The doctor’s hood, of black cloth, is four feet in length and made with a wide panel. The master’s and bachelor’s hoods are three-and-one-half feet long and three feet wide.

The binding or trim of all hoods is of velvet, two, three and five inches wide for the bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees, respectively.

The color of this velvet trim indicates the department or faculty to which the degree pertains, each department having been assigned a different color by the Intercollegiate Code. The lining of the hood reflects the official colors of the college/university. Arts, Letters, Humanities - White Business - Drab Education - Light Blue Engineering - Orange Health Sciences - Sage Law - Purple Medical Sciences - Green Nursing - Apricot Philosophy - Royal Public Administration - Peacock Public Health - Salmon Science - Gold Social Work - Citron Theology - Red