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After the hooding ceremony, Thi Minh Cao, a physician assistant student, speaks on behalf of the graduates. Image by Evan Lewis

In-Person Hooding Ceremony Returns to College of Health Professions

May 25, 2022 | Commencement week traditions of the UAMS College of Health Professions made a celebrated return May 20 with an informal brunch in the late morning and a hooding ceremony in the afternoon.

With the easing of many safety and health restrictions made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic, students of the college were able to gather in person with family and friends to celebrate their graduation.

Nearly 300 people attended a brunch buffet reception for graduates and their guests in the lobby of the Administration West building on the Little Rock campus of UAMS.

“I have been at UAMS for 30 years, and I have watched or participated in 30 convocations. Every single time that Pomp and Circumstance plays, and we walk into that arena, I get goosebumps. It’s an incredible moment,” Stephanie Gardner, Ed.D., Pharm.D., UAMS provost and chief strategy officer, said at the brunch. “As you start your journey as a health care provider in this state or another, please always remember you are well prepared, you are ready for this and you’re going to be great.”

Hundreds gathered in the CHARTS Theater on the North Little Rock campus of University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College for the Class of 2022’s hooding ceremony.

“I am so happy to be here after two years of having to do this without congregating, without being able to get together,” said UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA. “This is really a great pleasure and reminds me of how important these events are for our graduating students.”

Before introducing Patterson, College of Health Professions Dean Susan Long, Ed.D., provided some historical background for the rituals and traditions of hooding.

The hood has a satin lining and a velvet border. The satin displays the colors of the university, and at UAMS, these are deep red and white. The border indicates the academic discipline. At the college’s hooding ceremony, gold and yellow stood for the master of science degree, green for the physician assistant’s program, teal for physical therapy and sage green for the doctor of audiology degree.

“The hood is placed or invested when the requirements for the master’s or doctoral degree are completed,” Long said. “Faculty consider it a great honor to be selected to place the hood. It’s a symbol of academic achievement over the shoulders of their graduates.”

She said the ceremony is rooted in a long academic tradition dating back to the medieval period. To invest the hoods, Long invited to the podium Tina Maddox, Ph.D., the college’s associate dean for academic affairs.

Next, each one of the 107 students on stage walked to the center of the stage as faculty placed the hoods over their shoulders. Five were unable to attend.

Students graduating with Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Doctor of Audiology, Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition, Master of Science in Genetic Counseling, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Master of Physician Assistant Studies degrees were invested with hoods.

Following the hooding, Thi Minh Cao, a physician assistant student, spoke on behalf of the graduates.

“These transitions during the pandemic and all the difficulties that came with them taught us about perseverance, tenacity and resilience in new ways,” Cao said. “Before starting my studies here at UAMS, I remember being filled with anxiety for what was to come. I remember thinking that in May 2020. ‘What if I can’t handle PA school along with everything else that was going on?’ My mind ran wild with these thoughts, and they never really went away even after school started.”

He said about halfway through his degree program he realized what he had accomplished to that point and also that he could keep going despite the stress.

“Out of perseverance and, of course, support from friends and family, I kept moving forward to the finish line,” Cao said. “Now, I am here with you all, thousands of UAMS Covid-19 screening stickers later, at the long end of this arduous journey, eager and ready to start another.”

He said some may doubt the abilities of his fellow graduates because of the effect the pandemic had on their education, but the strength and adaptability that were necessary to get through it have given them the confidence needed to allay the doubts of others.

“You now have the skills to go forth and change the world for the better,” Cao said. “Now, go forth and do so.”