University Commencement Committee (CC) Friday, September 29, 2017 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. 2007 Ullsvik

Members Present: Tony Isabell, Chanaka Mendis, Cheryl Lange, Bill Haskins, David Kieckhafer, Ian Dreger, Katie Weigel, Leonida Ljumanovic, Margaret Karsten, Michael Breitner, Patrick Hagen, Paul Erickson, Susan Lindholm, Yuanyuan Hu, Amy Jelle (Recording Secretary)

Members Absent: Barry Ellis, Jason Williams, Joyce Burkholder, Tyler Tollefson

Minutes

  1. Welcome – Chanaka Mendis called the meeting to order at 2:03 PM
  1. Election of Commencement Committee Chair(s)– Chanaka Mendis nominated Ian Dreger for position of Chair; second by Katie Weigel. Dreger accepted the nomination and was voted in unanimously as the new chair. Leonida Ljumanovic was nominated as co-chair by Ian Dreger and accepted the nomination.
  2. Commencement Dates and Times–December, 2017
  1. Saturday, December 16th
  2. BILSA at 9:00 a.m.
  3. LAE and Graduate School at 12:30 p.m.
  4. EMS at 4:00 p.m.
  5. Dave Kieckhafer confirmed commencement numbers:
  6. 243 students are expected to graduate for the college of BILSA (compared to 247 in 2016-17)
  7. 158 students are expected to graduate for the college of LAE (compared to 165 in 2016-17)
  8. 205 students are expected to graduate for the college of EMS (compared to 188 in 2016-17)
  9. 120 students are expected to graduate for the School of Graduate Studies (compared to 107 in 2016-17)
  1. College Responsibilities (Confirm Deadlines) – Ian Dreger emphasized that the deadlines listed below were mirrored from the February, 2017 agenda and are negotiable
  2. Ian Dreger and Leonida Ljumanovic will take over Joanne Wilson’s responsibility of meeting with the assistant deans. Chanaka Mendis mentioned that he is available to help if the need arises.
  3. Select a Commencement Marshall for each ceremony(November 1st deadline)
  4. Deadline changed to October 20th in order to accommodate program print deadline of November 17th (programs will arrive on December 11th)
  5. Select a Senior Speaker for each ceremony (October 25th deadline)
  6. Deadline changed to October 20th in order to accommodate program print deadline of November 17th (programs will arrive on December 11th)
  7. Select College Valedictorian/Banner Carrier (October 25thdeadline)
  8. Deadline changed to October 20th in order to accommodate program print deadline of November 17th (programs will arrive on December 11th)
  9. Select faculty/staff to serve as Ceremony Leaders (November 14th deadline)
  10. Confirm number of faculty/staff attending each ceremony
  11. Leonida Ljumanovic explained that Joyce Burkholder sends out a memo to the dean’s office of each college requesting proposed (maximum numbers)for each ceremony. The committee then receives a letter from the dean’s office of each college with confirmed numbers.
  12. The attendance numbers are always lower than those received from the colleges. In order to accommodate, the committee now spreads out faculty in seating and only sets up two rows on each side in the front (allows more flexibility) for attending faculty.
  13. Chanaka Mendis will check on the status of this memo with Joyce Burkholder and keep the faculty liaisons updated.
  1. Confirm Principle Speakers– Sue Lindholm confirmed that these speakers have been chosen (BILSA: Stacey Shultz-Cherry, LAE: Cynthia Galvin, EMS: Ralph Howard). These names will be forwarded to Katie Weigel.
  1. Select Development Officers to contact (if not already established)
  2. Commencement Program
  3. Paul Erickson and Katie Weigel to follow up with Development
  1. Music (Barry Ellis) – Ian Dreger will communicate with Barry Ellis on this matter. Music is needed for at least two of the three ceremonies. Committee discussed bringing back the popularPioneer Steel Drum Band used for the December, 2016/May, 2017 ceremonies.
  1. Confirm Ceremony Details
  1. Flowers (Joyce Burkholder) – Ian Dreger confirmed that the flowers have been ordered and taken care of
  2. TV; Sound; Rooms; etc. – the University and Platteville Rooms have been reserved for overflow; Doudna Hall is also being looked into for extra space. Mike Breitner will work with Tyler Tollefson to arrange technology.
  3. Pictures and Plaques – Dave Kieckhafer confirmed that pictures have been taken care of; Ian Dreger will reach out to Joyce Burkholder for a status update on the plaques
  4. EMT – Dave Kieckhafer confirmed that they are currently working on getting pricing for these services
  5. Parking – Ian Dreger will work with Jason Williams to get a status update on parking
  6. Overflow (confirm amount of rooms available) – the University and Platteville Rooms have been reserved for overflow; Doudna Hall is also being looked into for extra space
  7. Memo to faculty/staff about line-up – this memo is normally sent out a week to ten days before commencement; Leonida Ljumanovic confirmed that she will send out separate, multiple emails to the colleges, as this was a very successful strategy used in 2016-17. Save the dates will be sent out earlier.
  8. Box Lunches – Ian Dreger will reach out to Joyce Burkholder on this matter
  9. Student Ushers/Ambassadors – Ian Dreger will reach out to Stacie Byers in Admissions
  10. University robes from Registrar’s office – Tony Isabell confirmed that the Alumni Room will be available for this purpose; committee discussed how to handle donated robes from faculty and whether or not the individual colleges should take care of this matter; committee favored keeping a few robes in reserve as spares for faculty (the price of the gowns runs at $500-600) – the hood colors will be UW-Platteville colors; Dave Kieckhafer will look further into this
  11. International Flags – Tony Isabell confirmed that this matter is in progress and he will reach out to Nina Elskamp for further details and will send list to Paul Erickson; it was specified that only the necessary international flags will be used, not all
  1. Regalia Subcommittee Membership – Dave Kieckhafer explained that a policy was adopted in 2013 to allow students to wear additional regalia; the process to do so is a formal application with a sub-committee that is in charge of approving/denying requests (with a student representative chosen from the Student Senate and chaired by PIC – Becky Hass); the Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs has been overseeing this committee, but the position has been since eliminated; Sherry Nevins from the Dean of Students office recommended that Linda Mulroy-Bowden from Student Life & Development be chosen to oversee this committee; this recommendation was approved
  2. Countdown to Commencement – Sue Lindholm confirmed that this program will begin October 4th from 2:30 – 6:00 PM in Velzy Commons; volunteers are being accepted for this event – please email Sue Lindholm if interested; Amy Jelle will work with Sue Lindholm to distribute a sign-up list for volunteers
  1. Commencement Lunch – this lunch is provided for the stage party and principle speakers; Ian Dreger will reach out to Steve Ramig for more details
  1. Preparation for 200th Commencement (May, 2018) – Dave Kieckhafer recommended that a banner be used again for this special milestone event; it was estimated that a banner and pins would be within budget; this matter will be discussed further at the next meeting in November
  1. Adjournment at 2:39 PM – the next meeting will be scheduled in early November before the 17th

Respectfully Submitted, Ian Dreger and Amy Jelle