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:: Traditions
Commencement
ExtravaGRADza
The Alumni Association traditionally welcomes the graduating class into
the alumni community through a variety of commencement activities.
Mason
Medal
The George Mason Medal is the university's highest honorary award and
is given by the Board of Visitors. This medal is designed to honor George
Mason, the man, and those receiving the award should have a record of
service to their community, state, or nation consistent with the level
and quality of George Mason's public service in his own time.
The Mason Medal was first awarded in 1987. Recipients include John T. Hazel, 1987; John C. Wood, 1988; Omer L. Hirst, 1989; Dorothy McDiarmid, 1990; Carrington Williams, 1991; Helen Hill Miller, 1992; Edwin W. Lynch and Edgar A. Prichard, 1995; Joanne F. Johnson, 1996; Sidney O. Dewberry, 1997; and Richard J. Ernst, 1998; James M. Buchanan, 2000; Dwight Schar, 2003; George W. Johnson, 2004; and Sally Merten and Earle Williams, 2005.
Procession
On Commencement day, all graduates meet at the clock tower on the Johnson
Center North Plaza to form a processional that winds through the campus
to the Patriot Center for their Commencement ceremony. While the future
graduates are mingling and getting in line, they decorate their graduation
caps, take pictures that are made into buttons, and receive a yellow or
green carnation to carry in the processional.
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