Faculty Information

Information for faculty participating in commencement celebrations.

Dissertation Chairs at Winter Commencement

All dissertation chairs will receive an email from the Dean of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies and will be asked to confirm—via a registration link—that they will hood their Ph.D. candidate during Winter Commencement.

A follow-up email containing the commencement schedule and hooding instructions will be sent to dissertation chairs one week prior to Winter Commencement. In addition, dissertation chairs should contact their students directly regarding their plans to attend the ceremony.

Dissertation chairs are responsible for providing their own academic attire (hoods, caps, and gowns).  Instructions for you to rent attire will be provided in the email you will receive after registering to attend the ceremony using this Dissertation Chair RSVP form. The deadline for renting attire is Friday, December 9, 2022. You are responsible for picking up and returning your own attire from Barnes and Noble at the Union, where it can be rented to participating faculty free of charge.

For further information regarding the role of dissertation chairs, please contact the Office of University and Development Events at (734) 647-7900 or [email protected].

If you are a graduate and your dissertation chair is unable to participate in Winter Commencement, a faculty marshal will hood you on stage. If you would like to have Rackham invite an alternate faculty to hood you, please send an email to [email protected] for more information.

Marshals

During commencement, faculty volunteers serving as commencement marshals provide directions, answer questions, and escort graduates to their seats.

Every year, nearly 100 faculty from across campus assist with the various university-wide commencement ceremonies. Marshals play an important role in helping to guide the ceremony and ensuring that the program runs smoothly. If you are interested in serving as a faculty marshal, please direct your request to [email protected].

Faculty Guests

Faculty Guests are encouraged, but not required, to wear academic attire.