UM-Flint May 2010 Commencement – Behind the Scenes
The May 2010 Commencement Ceremony is now a memory. It is always a tradition for members of the Commencement Committee to spend the day after thinking of all the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” stuff that we will do differently for the next ceremony. We also spend a good portion of the day nursing very sore feet.
But, back to some of the behind the scenes moments from Commencement, and ideas we have for making some improvements:
1) Perani and humidity
Yes, it was humid in there, wasn’t it? According to Perani’s building manager, there is an issue with the ice that is still on the floor (the Flint Generals are still in the playoffs), and the climate of the rest of the building. If the air conditioner is on too high, apparently there is the threat of fog, so climate control in there is a delicate balancing act. Arguably, the balancing act was weighted on the side of humidity. The heating/cooling system has been fixed since the freezing cold of the December ceremony, but I think it is a very large, old building that is difficult to heat and cool.
2) Lots of graduates, but empty seats in the audience.
We had nearly 615 students participate in the ceremony, but a good chunk of seats were open behind the stage. Those are the worst seats for viewing the ceremony, but still, we had given away nearly all 4,000 tickets. It appears that many friends and family decided to not attend at the last minute. I would be interested in hearing from graduates if their families had any seating issues.
3) How long does it take to set up the arena for the ceremony?
I always get the question, “What time do you guys get here to set up?” The answer is we have various people showing up at various times. Because I am an extreme worrier (this is the biggest day of the year for our university!), I arrive between 7:45am and 8:00am at Perani to begin setting up. Many folks from several departments start arriving at 8:00am, then the flower folks from Vogt’s, the sound specialists from Gail and Rice productions, and then many other staff help to set up both arenas, the lobby, and the faculty robing room. It does take a small army and literally months of preparation. But it is all worth it!
4) How did the webcast work out?
The webcast went fairly well. We are going to work on improving it for future ceremonies, but in general, we were pleased that people who wanted to watch it could view it at their convenience.
Finally, I love to hear feedback on commencement, and ways we can improve it. We will begin meeting immediately to plan the December 2010 and May 2011 ceremonies so that those ceremonies can be the best possible. Send me your thoughts!
Go Blue!
Jennifer Hogan
