Graduate School Commencement
42nd Annual Graduate School Commencement Ceremony
May 17, 2026
Program Participants and Music Degrees Academic Costume and Decorations
The Graduate School Commencement Ceremony livestream will be available beginning at 9:45 am PDT on Sunday, May 17.
A monitor will also be set up in the Pamplin Sports Center Trophy Hall for viewing.
Ceremony Program
Prelude and Processional
Performed by Columbia Brass
Presentation of the Lewis & Clark Mace
Rafe McCullough, Associate Professor
Land Acknowledgement and Invocation
Hilary Martin Himan Chaplain and Director of Spiritual Life
Welcome
Andy Saultz MAT ’06 Dean of the Graduate School and Professor
Remarks
Robin Holmes-Sullivan President of Lewis & Clark
Commencement Address
Charlene Williams EdD ’15 Director of the Oregon Department of Education and Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction
Conferring of Degree honoris causa
Doctor of Humane Letters
Charlene Williams
Hooded by
Paula J. Hayes BS ’92 Chair, Board of Trustees
Reflections of the Graduates
Lilia Marina Ibarra EdS ’26 School Psychology
Introduced by
Danielle Torres Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Professor
Presentation of Degree Candidates
Dean Saultz
Cari Zall MAT ’05 Clinical Instructor
Conferring of Degrees
President Holmes-Sullivan
Dean Saultz
Hooding
Dean Saultz
Associate Dean Torres
Doctoral Committee Chairs
Charge to the Class
Dean Saultz
Recessional
Reception
A complimentary reception honoring the graduates and their guests will follow immediately on the Graduate Campus.
Participants and Music
Platform Party
Charlene Williams EdD ’15 Director of the Oregon Department of Education and Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction
Lilia Marina Ibarra EdS ’26 Graduate Speaker
Robin Holmes-Sullivan President of Lewis & Clark
Paula J. Hayes BS ’92 Chair, Board of Trustees
Hilary Martin Himan Chaplain and Director of Spiritual Life
Andy Saultz MAT ’06 Dean of the Graduate School and Professor
Danielle Torres Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Professor
Rafe McCullough Associate Professor
Cari Zall MAT ’05 Clinical Instructor
Caitlin Hansen Graduate Registrar Specialist
Prelude
Sonata from Die Bänkelsängerlieder Georg Daniel Speer, arr. Robert King
Fancies, Toyes, and DreamesGiles Farnaby, arr. Elgar Howarth
Three Pieces Ludwig Maurer, arr. Robert Nagel
Canzona on a French Theme Samuel Scheidt
“Somewhere Out There” from An American TailJames Horner
Processional
March Imperial Wilford Holcombe
Recessional
Trumpet Voluntary John Stanley
Musicians
Columbia Brass
Sign Language Interpreters
Gina Diaz
Maria Johnson
Mace Bearer
Rafe McCullough Associate Professor
Faculty Marshals
Brenda Sifuentez Associate Professor
Jennifer Twyford Associate Professor
Student Marshals
Mary Andrus Assistant Professor
Grace Geist Graduate Admissions Ambassador
Amanda Harris Graduate Admissions Ambassador
Megan McCaffrey Graduate Admissions Counselor
Chelsey Torgerson Clinical Assistant Professor
Nori Valdez Gruber Director, Lewis & Clark Community Counseling Center
Ushers
Members of the Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling Community
Degrees
Academic Costume
The tradition of academic dress has origins dating back as far as the 12th century, when the first universities were taking form in Europe. Scholars at these institutions wore the cap, gown, and hood typical of clerics. Over the centuries, this dress became the ceremonial costume with certain standardized features.
Sleeves in the bachelor’s gown are pointed; in the master’s and specialist’s gowns, oblong with arms projecting at the elbow; in the doctor’s gown, bell-shaped. The doctor’s gown is faced with velvet with three matching stripes on the sleeves, and the hood is lined with the official colors of the degree-conferring institution. For Lewis & Clark these are black and orange. The outside trimming of the hood signifies the discipline in which the degree was conferred.
Gold School Psychology
Light Blue Education
Peacock Educational Administration
White Advanced Leadership; Art Therapy; Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy; Professional Mental Health Counseling; School Counseling; Student Affairs Administration.
Decorations
Graduates may wear stoles reflecting their unique identities, including cultural heritage, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation.
American Indian and Alaska Native graduates may wear regalia adornments that honor their unique tribal culture. Adornments may include eagle feathers or other culturally significant items.
Graduates may wear honor cords or stoles provided by professional organizations or academic societies in their field of study to indicate membership and active participation.
Graduates who have served as members of the U.S. Armed Forces may wear red, white, and blue Americana cords provided by Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling.
Graduates who identify as first-generation college students—typically defined as students whose parents or guardians did not earn a 4-year college degree—may wear silver first generation pins.
Graduates may wear leis, “a profound symbol of love, respect, and hospitality in Hawaiian culture,” as presented to them by family or friends.
Mace
The Lewis & Clark ceremonial mace emphasizes the convergence of diverse cultures. It evokes the maces of Europe, medieval symbols of authority that still feature in the proceedings of many governing bodies, and the speaker’s staffs of the Indigenous peoples of the Northwest, which historically had a similar significance. The Lewis & Clark mace was carved by Bill Holm, former curator of Northwest Coast art at what is now the Burke Museum in Seattle. In the form of a chieftain’s staff, it is a reminder of the history of the Pacific Northwest.
At the base of the mace is a frog representing the primordial beginnings of humanity. The carving transitions to a shell-studded space above the frog and then the beaver. Topping the ceremonial staff is the eagle.
email gradcommence@lclark.edu
voice 503-768-6030
Lewis & Clark College
Graduate School of Education and Counseling
Sharon Chinn
Graduate Registrar:
Courtney Whetstine