· COMMENCEMENT 1966 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT 1966 Saturday, December 10 University Auditorium, East Lansing ACADEMIC COSTUME 2 The pageantry and color of commencement exercises reveal a record of academic achievement of the various individuals taking part in the exercises. The following brief description is given that the audience might more readily interpret such achievement. In 1895, the Intercollegiate Commission, a group of leading American educators, met at Columbia University to draft a code which would serve to regulate the design of gowns and hoods indicating the various degrees as well as the colors to indicate the various faculties. This code has been adopted by most of the colleges and universities in America and its use has made iden tification of scholastic honors an immediate activity. Three types of gowns are indicated by the code. Those worn by the bachelors are made of black worsted material and have long, pointed sleeves. Those worn by masters may be made either of black silk or black wool and have long, closed sleeves with the arc of a circle near the bottom. The arm goes through a slit, giving the appearance of short sleeves for the master's gown. Doctor's gowns are made of black silk and are faced with velvet. The sleeves are full, round and open with three bars of velvet on each sleeve. The velvet facing of bars on the sleeves may be black or the same color as the binding of the hood. Hoods are made of material identical with the gown and are lined in the official academic color of the institution conferring the degree. If the in stitution has more than one color, the chevron is used to introduce the second color. Colored velvet or velveteen binds the hoods and indicates the depart ment or faculty to which the degree pertains. Historical associations of color have been continued to signify th