Academic Regalia

The regalia worn for formal academic ceremonies such as commencements are patterned after the gowns and hoods worn regularly in the Middle Ages by scholars for warmth in unheated buildings and as distinguishing dress denoting their place in society.

A great variety of designs and colors developed over the years in the costumes worn at different universities. Since 1895 in the United States, a uniform intercollegiate code of style and colors has been adhered to by most institutions.

In accordance with this code, most academic gowns are black, although some universities permit other solid colors. Occasionally, the robe color may indicate a professional distinction, such as deep purple for law or scarlet for ecclesiastical honors. Adaptations of the academic costume for high schools have sometimes used colors other than black for purely decorative purposes. Sometimes a distinguishing device on the robe or cap indicates an individual honor or a special occasion.

The baccalaureate gown is of simple cut with full, somewhat pointed sleeves. The front is closed and often no hood is worn with this gown. The mortar board head covering originated in ancient Greece, symbolizing the commitment of the scholar to a life of building. It has either a plain black tassel or one of a color indicating the subject area of the degree. The custom of shifting the cap’s tassel from right to left at the time of awarding the degree is used in lieu of investing each candidate with the bachelor’s hood.

The master’s gown is similar to the bachelor’s gown, except that the sleeves are fuller, cut square with a halfcircle at the bottom and sometimes worn with the arms through a horizontal slit at elbow level.

The doctoral robe is ampler in cut with a full bellshaped sleeve, velvet panel edging in the front and three velvet stripes on each sleeve. The velvet trim may be black or in the color appropriate to the degree. The mortar board tassel for the doctorate is gold. Some American and many foreign universities use cap forms other than the mortar board, ranging from a soft velvet beret to more elaborate fringed styles, each of which has its own historical tradition.

Hoods worn over the gowns have a velvet edging, usually in a color indicating the specific degree and a lining which is partially turned out to show the colors of the college or university which granted the degree.

Some of the colors used for tassels and velvet panels to designate the degree are:

Addiction Studies Arts and Letters Business Dentistry Economics Education Engineering Fine Arts, Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning Journalism Law Library Science Music Nursing Philosophy Physical Education Physical Therapy Public Administration Public Health Sciences Social Work Speech Theology

White White Drab Lilac Copper Light Blue Orange

Brown Crimson Purple Lemon Pink Apricot Dark Blue Sage Green Teal Peacock Blue Salmon Pink Golden Yellow Citron Silver Gray Scarlet

Keith V. Adolphson

Before retiring in June of last year, Dr. Adolphson had been a mathematics education faculty member since 2002. He taught content and methods courses for elementary and middle level teaching certification students, and courses in the mathematics master of arts program, where he served as program director. He was the project director for the EWU Robert Noyce Scholarship Program from 2010-2015, a NSF funded, $1.2 million scholarship program for mathematics and science teaching certification students. Other grants include the Mathematics Case Study Project and EWUCheney PS-Gates Foundation Partners in Learning Project. Dr Adolphson is widely published and has participated in numerous national and international mathematics education research conference proceedings. His research areas of interest include discourse and the use of technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Dr. Adolphson has served in a number of roles both within the department, across the university and in the broader mathematics education research community. In addition, he has served as a reviewer for numerous publications and conference proposals; as a EWU Faculty Senate representative; has chaired numerous successful department faculty search committees; and volunteered as a faculty sponsor for the EWU Men’s Hockey Team;.

Dr. Adolphson is also a retired Lieutenant Commander and Naval Flight Officer. A Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm veteran, he served as the staff command and control and anti-air warfare officer for the commander of allied naval forces. After retiring from the Navy, Dr. Adolphson taught middle school mathematics and technology education before earning a doctorate in instructional leadership and academic curriculum from the University of Oklahoma. He also has two master’s degrees.

Dr. Adolphson and his wife, Lynn, have lived in both Germany and Japan and have two daughters and four granddaughters. They are avid Eagle football and hockey fans Marge E. Andrews

Marge Andrews grew up near an American naval base in southern Spain, sparking a life-long love of Spanish. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from University of Connecticut, teaching credentials from California, Texas, & Washington and a Master's in Bilingual Education from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She did a Fulbright teacher exchange in Bogota, Colombia during the 2007-2008 academic year, and later taught teacher workshops throughout Colombia.

Marge Andrews' 22-year career with Eastern Washington University began in 1999 when she started work as an adjunct in Spanish after moving to the Inland Empire of the Northwest. She became a Senior Lecturer 8 years later, primarily teaching 1st and 2nd year Spanish classes, Conversation, and Spanish literature. In 2005 and 2006, she ran Fiesta Camp, for children to learn about Spanish language, culture, and food.

From its onset, she participated in Eastern's concurrent enrollment program, coordinating with high school Spanish teachers throughout Eastern Washington, and organizing workshops on topics such as Study Abroad, Total Physical Response Storytelling, and Creative Writing.

She took part in ACTFL workshops and helped to establish and promote systems for portfolio assessment in EWU's online classroom management systems. She enjoyed writing tests and new curriculum and upon her retirement in December of 2020, bequeathed many megabytes of files to the Spanish program.

Marge's appreciation for the languages taught by her colleagues helped foster goodwill in the language department. Her passion for helping students during office hours saw her arrive early and leave late. She assisted not only many part-time lecturers but also new tenure track faculty by sharing ideas to form collaborative teaching teams.

She's grateful for everything that she learned from her students over the years and for how they inspired her. This inspires confidence that the future of the world is in good hands.