Texas A&M University Galveston Campus Graduation Celebration & Conferring of Degrees
Congratulations Aggie Graduates!
Summer Commencement
Congratulations, graduates! As you know, we were not able to hold in-person commencement ceremonies this summer. We hope to schedule a university celebration to be determined and announced when appropriate.
The Office of the Registrar at TAMU will mail diplomas directly to students after they have cleared in August. Please email degree-audit@tamu.edu with questions.
Ceremony Length
Commencement ceremonies vary from one hour up to two and half hours. Although visitors may leave their viewing area at anytime, guests are asked to respect the other graduates by staying for the entire ceremony. Graduates are required to remain for the entire ceremony.
Academic Regalia
Throughout the world, academic institutions have created a wide variety of customs as they have attempted to indicate the accomplishments of scholars, through distinctive dress, color and ceremony. American academic regalia have developed from English traditions, which originated at Oxford and Cambridge, and have been in continual use in this country since colonial times. By the twentieth century, institutions of higher learning in the United States had adopted a well-defined system of academic costume which now includes the identification of the different academic degrees by distinctive gowns, hoods and colors.
Gonfalons
The gonfalon, a flag that hangs from a crosspiece or frame, originated in the medieval republics of Italy as an ensign of state or office. Gonfalons have been adopted by many universities around the world as college or institutional insignias.
The gonfalon of Texas A&M University Galveston Campus and the eleven colleges of Texas A&M University all have similar maroon and white patterns. The white field common to all gonfalons serves as a background for the symbol of each college. The symbol of Texas A&M University Galveston Campus is the spiral pattern of the chambered nautilus shell which conforms to the mathematical formula derived from the Fibonacci series of numbers. The blue vertical bands behind it give stability to the vast open waters of the sea.
The Mace
The University mace, carried in ceremonial procession, symbolizes the rich history or Texas A&M University Galveston Campus. The head or the mace is made of Texas mesquite: inlaid on its front is a bronze University seal. A piece of teak from the original Texas Clipper (symbolizing maritime activities) and a piece of whale tooth ivory (symbolizing scientific research and teaching activities) are inlaid on the back of the mace. The foot and coupling between the staff and head are fashioned out of brass taken from the Texas Clipper II. As a coin is traditionally put under the step (bottom) of a mast, a 1962 penny is stepped in the brass foot to commemorate the year of the school's birth as the Texas A&M Maritime Academy. In the hollow center of the brass coupling between the staff and head is a small cavity, containing historical artifacts: a 1971 penny, symbolizing the year the school expanded beyond maritime subjects; a piece of Fort Crockett, the first Galveston building used by the school; and a piece of Kirkham Hall, the first building on the Mitchell Campus.
It was presented to the University in 2006 by Steven Conway, then Director of Information Services, who turned and finished the mesquite and assembled the mace. Trenton Thornton '86 milled the brass for the foot and coupling. Dr. Stephen Curley, Regents Professor, Department of Liberal Studies, suggested historical items to include in the construction.
