Sul Ross State University
A Member of the Texas State University System
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Commencement InformationCommencement day will be a day to celebrate accomplishments and academic successes, a day of recognition of our degree candidates. Sul Ross State University will honor our graduating class with the Fall Undergraduate and Graduate Commencement Exercises at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 13 in the Pete P. Gallego Center. We expect the Commencement Exercise to last approximately ninety minutes. The Commencement Exercises will include the University's traditional ceremony, a ceremony whose style stretches back to the earliest origin of Sul Ross State University, honoring each degree candidate individually. President Morgan will join the guest speaker to greet each candidate individually as his or her name is called. The ceremonies will begin with an academic procession including representatives of the University officials and deans, members of the Board of Regents, distinguished guests, and University faculties,. The commencement speaker at the Commencement Exercises will be announced soon. Entrance to the Pete P. Gallego Center on Commencement Day for the degree candidates will be on the ground level, north entrances. We ask the degree candidates report to the area at the end of the east hallway on ground level at 9 a.m. on Saturday, December 13. There will be a rehearsal on Friday, December 12 at 2 p.m. at the Pete P. Gallego Center. The degree candidates may robe in the area designated for candidates at the end of the east hallway on the ground level. Please do not bring cameras, umbrellas or purses with you, as there will not be a secure place to store them. We ask the degree candidates to be dressed in their academic regalia and seated in their assigned seat 30 minutes before the ceremonies are scheduled to begin. The Sul Ross State University Fine Arts and Communications Department will provide special prelude music. Commencement Exercises are held primarily for graduates and their families. They are dignified ceremonies. Courtesy, attention, and decorum are important and expected. All present should remain seated until the conclusion of the ceremonies, which will not exceed ninety minutes in length. The University maintains the proud and rare tradition of permitting each graduate to shake hands with the President and guest speaker as that person's name is called. The last graduate is as important as the first. No person should leave the ceremonies until they are concluded in their entirety. As a courtesy to those around you, our degree candidates and guests, please turn off pagers and cellular telephones during the ceremonies. Caps, gowns, tassels, and academic hoods may be purchased in the University Bookstore in the University Center. Only degree candidates attired in appropriate academic regalia will be permitted to participate in the exercises. You may wish to telephone the University Bookstore at (432) 837-8194, or visit their web site http://sulross.bncollege.com. We recommend that men wear dark slacks and shoes, and an appropriate shirt underneath their gowns. Women should wear dark shoes and either dark slacks, dress, or skirt and an appropriate blouse underneath their gowns. The academic regalia worn at the Commencement Exercises and at other formal university occasions trace their origins to those worn by faculty and students at medieval European universities. With only minor modifications, this regalia has remained largely unchanged since the 16th century. Standards for colleges and universities in the United States were established in 1895 with the adoption of an intercollegiate code, which specifies design and color appropriate for various degrees. A partial listing from the Intercollegiate Code for colors signifying disciplines follows:
Commencement announcement cards and personalized invitation cards may be purchased in the University Bookstore in the University Center. You may wish to telephone the University Bookstore at (432) 837-8194, or visit their web site at http://sulross.bncollege.com. Commencement day is the culmination of the efforts of our faculty, administrators, staff, students, and their families. We cordially invite you to join the university family in the recognition of our candidates for graduation. Tickets or invitations are not required, the Commencement Exercises are open to the public and you may invite as many guests as you wish. Guest seating will be on a first-come-first-seated basis. Guests will enter the Pete P. Gallego on the ground level or either sides of the Concourse level. The doors to the Pete P. Gallego Center will open 90 minutes prior to the Commencement Exercises. Families and guests are urged to be seated approximately 30 minutes before the beginning of the exercises. The Sul Ross State University Fine Arts and Communications Department will provide special prelude music. The entrance for the physically challenged will be next to the Graves-Pierce Fitness Center, crossing to the Concourse level. Wheelchair viewing sections for guests will be along the mezzanine level. A sign language interpreter will be provided for the hearing impaired. By Car: Any interstate or other highway which will lead you to Interstate10 at Fort Stockton or Van Horn will lead you to us. Here are directions for several routes to Alpine:
The Pete P. Gallego Center on the east side of our campus, facing Highway 67/90 east. General parking will be available in the lot just west of the Center. Accommodations and Restaurants For information regarding hotel accomodations and restaurants, you may wish to check with the Alpine Chamber of Commerce by calling (800) 561-3735 or (432)837-2326. visit their web site at http://www.alpinetexas.com. Families and guests are permitted on the arena floor during the ceremonies as long as they do not disrupt the flow of the ceremony. Degree candidates will receive diplomas during the Commencement Exercises. Diplomas are mailed to the in absentia graduates within the United States via first class mail. Diplomas mailed to international addresses are mailed registered airmail. According to University policy, diplomas will be held if all financial obligations to Sul Ross State University are not properly satisfied. If you think you may have an unsatisfied debt, telephone the Cashier's Office at (432) 837-8129 or check your account on Banner Self Service. Transcript requests must be in writing and signed by the student to whom the record belongs. To order a transcript of your Sul Ross State University record, you may make the request in person on the second floor of Brisco Administration Building or send a written request to the Office of the Registrar, Sul Ross State University, Box C-108, Alpine, TX 79832. You may also download a transcript request form from the Internet by pointing your web browser to https://www.sulross.edu/pages/3929.asp. Please be sure to ask that we mail your transcript after your degree is posted. The Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs has up to thirty days after the commencement exercises to approve your graduation. If you ask us to hold your transcript, it will be mailed as soon as the approval is received from the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, your current semester grades are recorded and your degree is posted. According to University policy, transcripts will be held if all financial obligations to Sul Ross State University are not properly satisfied. If you think you may have an unsatisfied debt, telephone the Cashier's Office at (432) 837-8129, or visit your account on Banner Self Service. The Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs will mail ceremony information to the degree candidate's local address approximately ten days prior to the Commencement Exercises. If there is an address change, please be certain to notify the Office of the Registrar at (432) 837-8713. There is a rehearsal for the Commencement Exercises at 2 p.m. the Friday afternoon before graduation. For those who are unable to attend you will receive specific ceremony instructions when they arrive at the ceremonies. See the standard script for the Commencement Ceremony, from beginning to end. When the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs closes the Commencement Exercises following the awarding of the degrees, the audience is asked to rise for the singing of the Alma Mater. The words of the song were penned by Rose Sharp Brewer of the English Department and first sang on November 16, 1920, when Sul Ross Normal College was formally opened. The words are printed on the back of the commencement program. The Alma Mater is always sung with heads uncovered. More Information If you have any questions regarding the Commencement Exercises, you may wish to call the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Office at (432) 837-8036. |