On running a degree day

Graduation looks like the wedding day of higher education. The robes, the chapel, the photographer. The truth is most of the work happens twelve weeks earlier, in a quiet shared inbox.

I keep a simple checklist for any degree day I run. Twelve weeks: confirm venue and date with the registry. Eight weeks: open student RSVPs with two reminders built in. Four weeks: lock the order of names — alphabetical by faculty, never by surname. One week: walk the venue with the team, every door, every step on stage.

If the day is invisible, that is the highest praise.