Syracuse University Commencement Reference Collection, 1872-2023

Summary

Creator:
Syracuse University.
Abstract:
Programs, speech transcripts, and invitations from Syracuse University's commencements and related activities
Extent:
19 boxes (12.25 linear feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Syracuse University Commencement Reference Collection,

Background

Scope and content:

The collection comprises programs, calendars, invitations, and transcripts of addresses, honorary degree citations, and baccalaureate sermons from Syracuse University commencement ceremonies and the commencement week's surrounding events. There are also a number of original designs for the commencement robes from the early 1950s.

Some notable commencement speakers whose transcribed speeches feature in the collection include Dorothy Thompson, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Hubert Humphreys, Walter Cronkite, and William Safire. Additionally, the valedictory speech of Joyce Carol Oates '60 numbers among the collection materials.

There are also a number of bound volumes, containing commencement programs from 1872 to 2005. The later programs were called Registers of Graduates.

Please note that the Archives' material related to commencement is split into two collections. The Syracuse Commencement Reference Collection holds unrestricted, general information about the commencement events and is readily available to researchers. The Syracuse University Commencement Collection is its corresponding collection, housed off-site and containing some restricted material as well as planning and internal files.

Biographical / historical:

Photograph of graduates entering in procession during the 1954 commencement

Syracuse University was founded on March 24, 1870, when its Board of Trustees signed the University charter and certificate of incorporation, acting on a proposal put forth earlier that year at the Methodist State Convention. Despite its modest beginnings, the story of Syracuse University has been one of remarkable growth and progress. The University’s population has expanded from a few dozen local students to over 21,000 students from all over the world. Significant eras of development in campus building and academic programs included the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries and the post-World War II years. The second half of the twentieth century saw the University transform into a modern research institution with international connections.

At the first commencement in 1872, there were 19 total graduates: nine candidates for the Bachelor of Arts and ten for the Bachelor of Science. As Syracuse University was co-ed from the start, one of the graduates was a woman named Mary L. Huntley, who received a Bachelor of Science.

In the 1940s and early 1950s, the University experienced a dramatic increase in class sizes due to veteran enrollment under the G.I. Bill post-World War II. As a result, during this time the University held multiple commencement ceremonies per year.

As the University grew in size and additional colleges and programs of study were established, the commencement exercises expanded from one ceremony for all students to separate commencement exercises for the various colleges and schools of the university.

Acquisition information:
The materials in the collection were transferred by campus offices and donated by outside donors.
Processing information:

Materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes.

Arrangement:

Materials are arranged alphabetically by subject.

From 1943 to 1953, as the number of graduates and graduates in accelerated programs increased, the University held multiple commencement ceremonies throughout the year. As a result, during that span of time there are multiple folders per year, organized chronologically by commencement date.

Access and use

Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions for this collection.

Terms of access:

Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Preferred citation:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Syracuse University Commencement Reference Collection,

Location of this collection:
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
Bird Library, Room 600
Syracuse, NY 13244, United States
Link to repository site
Contact:
315.443.2697
scrc@syr.edu