Brunch, Hooding Ceremonies Mark Crossroads for College of Health Professions Students
| At an informal brunch in the late morning and an afternoon hooding ceremony, both on May 19, hundreds of College of Health Professions students celebrated the successful conclusion of their formal, professional education and the beginning of their careers.
The lobby-atrium area of the Administration West building on the Little Rock campus was crowded as faculty and students and their families socialized, dined from a brunch buffet and listened to brief, public remarks from UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, and College of Health Professions Dean Susan Long, Ed.D.
Chancellor Cam Patterson, left, addresses the audience in the Administration West atrium. Students, their families and College of Health Professions faculty and staff gathered there for a brunch to honor the 2023 graduates of the college.Image by Evan Lewis
Long said that at the next day’s commencement ceremony, 524 students would graduate from the college.
“The crossroads is between your education and that time when you begin to deliver clinical services and care,” Patterson said at the brunch reception. “But, it’s not quite so simple because as part of your education you’ve already been engaged in health care. And, your education does not end tomorrow.”
He said he hoped that at UAMS, the students have “learned how to learn” because that is something they will continue to do as they progress in their careers.
Hours later, hundreds of friends and family members sat in the audience in the CHARTS Theater on the North Little Rock campus of University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College to watch as each of the 108 graduate students on stage was hooded.
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.
Long provided some historical background for the rituals and traditions of hooding. She said the ceremony is rooted in a long academic tradition dating back to the medieval period.
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 degrees, 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.”
Before the hooding, Long introduced UAMS Provost Stephanie Gardner, Ed., Pharm.D., to the audience and invited her to speak.
Gardner said, “Remember that your knowledge and expertise are powerful tools for change. With every patient you care for, with every innovative solution you devise, and with every opportunity to make a positive impact… you have the ability to shape the future of health care in Arkansas and beyond.”
To invest the hoods, Long invited to the podium Tina Maddox, Ph.D., the college’s associate dean for academic affairs.
Following the hooding, Chelna Galada, a genetic counseling student and member of the Class of 2023, spoke on behalf of the graduates.
“We all started in our UAMS programs right around the start of the pandemic, and attended classes in such unique and unusual times,” Galada said. “We’ve been destined to be here. We have studied hard and sacrificed a lot to get to this day. May 19, 2023 marks a significant milestone in our lives.”
Through the pandemic lockdown and shutdowns in 2020, mask mandates and screenings, she said the Class of 2023 learned to adapt.
“The interprofessional classes were surely awkward,” Galada said. “We stared at each other through the Zoom screens and shared our ideas with each other, even though we didn’t know anyone. Hey, we did it and moved beyond it.”
She said the graduating class was collectively grateful to all the family, friends and spouses who provided emotional support along with the practical support of taking care of household duties so they could devote extra time to studying.
“I want to just say, ‘Wow, we are here, we are here!’ and let’s celebrate this milestone with joy and laughter, this class of 2023,” she said in conclusion.
Seen from the third floor of the Administration West building, celebrants on the first floor mingle and dine on a brunch buffet. Image by Evan Lewis