Some 2000 students are expected to graduate from the University of Guyana (UG) during the 51st Convocation at the Turkeyen Campus and the National Cultural Center which is slated for Saturday November 11.
Graduands emanating from certificate, diploma and degree programs offered at the institution will, for the first time in the history of the University, be awarded at two separate ceremonies.
This is as the graduation ceremony for students attached to the Faculties of Agriculture and Forestry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Technology, will be held at the National Cultural Center on the said date, while those stemming from the Faculties of Education and Humanities, Health Sciences, and Social Sciences the ceremony will be held on the Turkeyen campus also on November 11.
Booked to deliver the feature address at the first ceremony is Dr Dhanpaul Narine, who is a distinguished educator and journalist, based in New York while Ambassador Rudolph Michael Ten-Pow, who studied Modern Languages, will give the keynote at the ceremony set for the Turkeyen campus.
In commenting on this significant change, Vice-Chancellor Professor Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith relayed that, “Our graduating classes have grown tremendously over the years, and having one ceremony has meant having extremely long ceremonies, with some graduates and guests leaving before the ceremonies conclude.”
Griffith further noted that, “Creating two ceremonies allows us to maintain the tradition of having every graduand cross the stage and shake the hand of the Chancellor, and maintain the solemnity of the occasion, while reducing the length of the ceremony.”
Additionally, the Vice Chancellor noted that unlike previous years, all students graduating with diplomas will be invited to don academic robes, along with those graduating with Bachelors and Masters Degrees.
Another new feature at this year’s Convocations will be the use of ceremonial gonfalons, which are banners, often shield-shaped, that hang from crosspieces on top of poles. These banners are usually carried at the head of the Convocation procession and identify the different Faculties within the university from which students are graduating.
On this note Professor Griffith highlighted that the, “adoption of this feature, which is found at mature universities across the world, will enhance the elegance and pomp of the ceremonies.”
