This year’s #RICcommencement will combine the awarding of #baccalaureate and advanced degrees into a single ceremony. It seems like a new way of doing things, but actually it’s a bit of #throwback. ••••• RIC began conferring advanced degrees in 1924. From then until 1970, the combined total of #undergrad and #graduate degrees was small enough to manage in a single ceremony. In 1971, it was decided that the number of degrees had reached the point of requiring separate ceremonies. From 1971-81, advanced degrees were conferred at a ceremony in the Walsh Center (which burned down in ‘92 and was replaced by the Murray Center) on the Friday before the #undergraduate ceremony. ••••• From 1982-93, the college held both winter and spring commencements. This reduced the number of degrees awarded each semester to the point that the college was able to resume the practice of a single, all-inclusive ceremony. ••••• With the college now offering an incredible range of graduate programs – and graduat...