Faculty & Staff

USF commencement is an exciting day for graduates, and also for the faculty and staff who have taught and worked with these students throughout their time at the university. This page is for USF faculty and staff who are not graduating and are interested in participating in a commencement ceremony.

Faculty and staff can participate in one of four ways:

  • Platform (Deans, Vice Presidents, Regional representatives, etc)

  • Marching Faculty (to be seated on the platform)

  • Hooding Faculty (to be seated with doctoral candidates)

  • Marshals (volunteers who assist graduates on the arena floor)

Click here if you are ready to register.

Here are the opportunities for involvement for our faculty and staff:

Hooding Faculty

Hooding professors are the faculty who are attending to hood their doctoral candidate. They will process with the platform party and are seated in the front rows of the arena, with their doctoral student. When it is time for students to take to the stage, the hooding professor accompanies the student on stage and puts the regalia hood on the student (hooding). They cross the stage, greeting the president, member of the Board of Trustees, and the graduate school dean before heading offstage for photographs. Full academic regalia is required for hooding professors. Doctoral students register separately for the ceremony.

Marching Faculty

Marching faculty attend each ceremony to represent the faculty of their college. They process into the arena and are seated on the stage for the duration of the ceremony. Full academic regalia, including tam/hat, is required for marching faculty.

Marshals

Marshals are faculty and staff volunteers who assist graduates on the arena floor before and during the ceremony. Our ceremony could not run without the help of our Marshals! Marshals assist students with finding their correct seat location and with general questions on the arena floor. When it is time for students to take to the stage, Marshals lead students to the stage area, and ensure that they return to their seats. Academic regalia is provided for all Marshals.

Regalia

Regalia is required for faculty attending commencement (with the exception of Marshals – where regalia is provided). Faculty can place rental or purchase orders through the USF Bookstore. Please note that orders do need to be received several weeks in advance of each ceremony.