POLICY ON FACULTY GRADUATION MARSHALS

ACADEMIC SENATE POLICY S98-202

At its meeting of March 24, 1998, the Academic Senate approved the following policy:

The annual spring graduation ceremony is the most public SFSU event and the faculty comprise the largest contingent of university representatives regularly attending this event. The SFSU faculty devote many years to teaching and mentoring students and the annual spring graduation is an important culmination of these relationships. To fulfill the need for SFSU faculty to properly discharge their responsibilities with regard to the annual spring graduation ceremony and their mentoring responsibilities with regard to the graduating students, the following should be considered:

1. Two Faculty Graduation Marshals, working with the SFSU Commencement Committee, will plan during the school year for faculty involvement in the spring SFSU graduation.
2. Early each spring semester, the Faculty Graduation Marshals will request from the offices of the College Deans the names of faculty from that college who will work with the Faculty Graduation Marshals during the annual spring graduation.
3. Using the names developed by the College Deans' offices, the Faculty Graduation Marshals will contact the designated college faculty and provide training for them prior to the SFSU spring commencement. The training will be sufficient, in both scope and number of sessions, to allow the college designated faculty to be properly trained to carry out their duties during commencement.
4. During the spring commencement, the Faculty Graduation Marshals will direct the designated college faculty in guiding graduation students in the processional. The Faculty Graduation Marshals and the college designated faculty will guide the movement of graduating students during and after the ceremony.

The Executive Committee, with the approval of the Academic Senate, will appoint two faculty to hold the position of Faculty Graduation Marshal. Initially one faculty would be appointed for a four-year term and the second a two-year term. Thereafter, the appointments would come at two-year intervals and the term of service will be four years. These appointments should be made in the fall semesters. At the end of a four-year term, a Faculty Graduation Marshal may be considered for reappointment by the Executive Committee.

The Faculty Graduation Marshals shall produce a written report concerning the spring graduation ceremony which will be sent to the Academic Senate Executive Committee. This report will contain a review of the graduation ceremony and will propose suggestions for changes at future graduations. This report must be completed by June 30 of the year in which the spring commencement is held and a copy of the report will be forwarded to the SFSU Commencement Committee.

**APPROVED BY PRESIDENT CORRIGAN ON APRIL 2, 1998**