Commencement rituals: The traditions that define us

Lehigh will hold its 158th commencement ceremonies on May 16 and 17, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1869, when just six students received diplomas in Packer Memorial Church. 

Since then, the ceremony has evolved to accommodate Lehigh’s growing student body. 

President Joseph Helble said the university moved the ceremony from Stabler Arena to Goodman Stadium following the stadium’s construction at the end of 1988. When Helble became president in 2021, he said he separated the graduate and undergraduate ceremonies from the doctoral hooding ceremony. 

“I really like that (commencement split) because it enables us to focus entirely on the graduate students on Saturday and then focus entirely on the undergraduate students on Sunday,” he said. 

He also said the undergraduate ceremony will begin 30 minutes earlier than in previous years to accommodate a larger graduating class.

The baccalaureate service is another integral part of commencement weekend. It takes place after the doctoral hooding ceremony and includes choral music, a prayer service and a farewell address. 

Chaplain Rev. Lloyd Steffen said the baccalaureate service — an interfaith ceremony held before commencement — originated in the 15th century at Oxford University, where it was once a religious exam in which students delivered a sermon in Latin to faculty. Today, he said, the service at Lehigh welcomes students of all religions backgrounds — and none — to Packer Memorial Chapel. 

This year, three students representing Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths will speak at the ceremony. 

Steffen said the ceremony is designed to be interfaith in both structure and purpose, and that it’s evolved over time to reflect the university’s commitment to diversity and to better support the spiritual needs of the campus community. 

He said the service has grown in recent years, with attendance expanding beyond the chapel and onto the lawn, drawing upwards of 800 students and family members. 

“It’s an opportunity for the graduating students to come together with their families, and it’s a chance for them to reflect with the speaker on the kinds of value questions that will be important to them as they move ahead,” Steffen said. 

This year’s guest speaker is Timothy Beal, a professor and religious studies scholar from Case Western Reserve University. He will speak on the intersection of religion, artificial intelligence and moral values in higher education. 

Past speakers have included Nobel Peace Prize laureates, entrepreneurs and internationally recognized journalists.

In previous years, Lehigh’s Student Senate president represented the undergraduate class and spoke at commencement. Later, the Student Senate opened commencement speech applications to the entire undergraduate class. 

This year’s student speaker is Marcella Rodio, ‘26, an Eckardt Scholar and double major in English and psychology. Rodio said she wasn’t planning to apply but felt compelled to submit an application because of her love for writing. 

“I was really excited to reflect on my experience through storytelling and speech crafting, and I really appreciated the opportunity to sit down and (complete the application), even though I had no idea that it would actually get chosen,” Rodio said. 

Rodio said she and her friends write letters to themselves at the end of each academic year to reflect on memories, express gratitude and celebrate accomplishments. They read them aloud to one another at the end of each year, creating a full-circle moment to reflect on how they’ve grown. 

“I’ve been (writing letters) every year since my (first year), and the people that have done it with me have changed as I’ve grown and gained new friends,” Rodio said. 

She said her speech will incorporate elements of argumentative writing from her English background, including an approach that challenges students to think critically by ending with a question — something she said is unconventional for a final moment together as a class.

Although many aspects of Lehigh’s commencement have changed to reflect a growing and more diverse student body, some traditions remain. After the ceremony, a representative from the class 50 years ago “adopts” the current graduating class. In a ceremonial ringing of the bell, a member from the class of ‘76 and ‘26 will ring the bell together.

The academic regalia worn by faculty and administration, as well as the students’ cap and gown, has also remained largely unchanged.

“I find (commencement ceremonies) all meaningful,” Helble said. “Standing at the head of the procession, being able to process past the students and verbally congratulate them, hearing what the student speakers have to say — it’s a beautiful representation of all of Lehigh.”