Commencement Collection

4 linear feet (7 boxes: 1 book box and 6 document boxes)

This collection documents the ceremonies and related events of Commencement and/or graduation exercises at The College of New Jersey spanning 1858 to the present day.

The collection includes the following materials:

Commencement invitations - These are formal printed invitations that may include a student’s calling card or handwritten details during the Normal School years, as well as commercially printed invitations used to date, c. 1869-2005 (bulk c. 1869-1920, 1977-2005).

Class Day and/or week programs - These are often beautifully printed and bound with cord and tassels, which likely served as a keepsake for students of the Normal and Model Schools. They list the schedule of activities for a graduating class during a day or over the span of a week. In some cases, they also include the Commencement program (c. 1894-1924).

The Normal and Model Schools classes of 1917 did not have a Class Day, but instead participated in Red Cross activities supporting World War I. The Model School as a K-12 school ended after the class of 1917, when it became “The Training School” offering only the elementary grades. In the 1930s, official Class Day or Week activities were replaced by less formal “Senior Week” activities, which continued off and on over the decades. Search The Signal newspaper for more information https://dr.tcnj.edu/handle/2900/275

Commencement tickets - These are admission tickets to the Normal or Model School Commencement ceremonies, usually at Taylor Opera House, c.1873-1901.

Commencement programs - These are printed programs of the Commencement ceremony, often containing the names of all graduating students. During the Normal School years, some have various embossed and/or multicolor illustrations of the school, insignia, or decorative lettering. Later programs have fewer design elements. The collection is mostly complete after 1891 with the exception of 2000, c. 1883-2023.

Promotion Exercises programs - These were for the Grammar A Class of the Model School, which held a graduation-style ceremony, c. 1909-1917.

Class and school songs - These are separate printed pages of songs to be sung during Commencement and other graduation events, usually containing a unique song for the graduating class and other school anthems and/or alma mater, c. 1899-1901.

Baccalaureate programs - These were printed as separate programs c. 1934-1964, but during the Normal School years, information about the Baccalaureate service was listed in the Class Day/Week or Commencement programs.

Programs for departmental, diploma, or other special graduation ceremonies - These are programs for Commencement events held outside of the main ceremony, often for graduate students or special groups, c. 1967; c. 2016-2023.

Original speeches - There are two handwritten speeches: “I Have Wandered in my Dreams,” is a Commencement speech from 1870 whose author is unknown. The Annual Report for that year lists Mary F. Chadwick and Rosalie A. Collins as presenters of "honorary essays," and Katie L. Wilson was valedictorian. And "The Child's Ability to Reason" was a valedictory essay written by Ira Collins, but read by O. Watson Flavelle, due to Collins’ ill health at June 1899 Commencement.

Graduation or Commencement Bulletins - These are newsletters that contain information and schedule of events around the Commencement ceremony. c. 1969-1999

Graduation Convocation program - During some years, the college held an August graduation combined with the annual Convocation ceremony. These programs document those ceremonies, c. 1960-1967.

Scrapbooks - There are two scrapbooks in this series: The older scrapbook (c. 1873-1921) contains ephemera related to Commencement such as invitations, tickets, and programs for Senior class activities and the Commencement ceremony from the era of the Normal School.

In the 1908-1932 scrapbook, many of the Commencement programs only have the page with the events of the day and do not have the cover and/or a page listing the graduate’s names. Starting in 1918, some of them have the page with graduates’ names, but they were at one time pasted into a notebook that has since been disassembled but the back pages of the brochures may not be accessible and/or readable.

The collection contains two series: Commencement Scrapbooks and Annual Commencement Materials. Series 1 contains two scrapbooks of Commencement programs and related materials of overlapping years ranging from c.1873 to 1932 that are arranged mostly chronologically. Series 2 comprises materials for each year of Commencement, arranged in chronological order.

This collection is open for research.

The items in this collection may be used by patrons who abide by the Archives and Special Collections Use Policy of the R. Barbara Gitenstein Library at TCNJ.

Portions of the collection have been digitized and are available for viewing online.

Copyright restrictions apply. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the College Archivist and Special Collections Librarian,Archives and Special Collections, R. Barbara Gitenstein Library, The College of New Jersey, PO Box 7718, Ewing, NJ 08628-0718, email: Ask a Librarian via the library’s website https://library.tcnj.edu/

• English

The bulk of the materials came from interdepartmental transfers and intentional collection by librarians, with the following exceptions: the 1870 Commencement speech was a gift of Mrs. Ralph Prall in 1956; 1884 Commencement program was a gift of Elizabeth “Lizzie” Oliphant (her graduation) on May 24, 1956; 1888 Commencement program was a gift of Irene Medaugh (her father was class of 1888, she was class of 1931) on April 7, 1978; 1924 Commencement program was a gift of Dr. J. Harrison Morson in 2002; and 1930 Commencement program was a gift of Judy Schreiber on August 5, 2021.

Annual deposits of Commencement programs are expected after graduation ceremonies in May.

Room 410, Archives and Special Collection, Gitenstein Library, Ewing, NJ 08628-0718

The first Commencement ceremony was held in 1858. The early ceremonies were held outside of the school, including at Masonic Hall and later, at the Taylor Opera House in Trenton around the early 1870s. Indoor graduation ceremonies began on campus after a new building with an auditorium was built at the Normal School in the 1890s Since the move to Hillwood Lakes, Commencement ceremonies have been held in various locations indoors and out, throughout the campus. Many years saw more than one Commencement or graduation ceremony – generally one in January or February, another in May or June, and occasionally one in August.
The Model School served as a training school for Normal School student teachers from 1856 through 1917. Primary through high school students attended the Model School. Some of its alumni also attended and received degrees from the Normal School. It had a separate Commencement ceremony during the same week as the Normal School, and often shared a Baccalaureate service.
Commencement exercises consisted primarily of invocations, class speakers, essay presentations, honorary speakers, and the awarding of degrees. Baccalaureate exercises occurred shortly before or after the commencements and consisted of hymns, prayers, and addresses. The Model School and Normal School shared the same Baccalaureate program. Baccalaureate services included religious elements and occurred on a Sunday. Separate Baccalaureate services were either merged with the commencement exercises or discontinued altogether by the late 1960s.

Graduating seniors from both the Model and Normal Schools also participated in “Class Day” or “Class Week” exercises, which included a variety of activities such as outings, performances, dances, and other social events. A similar tradition has continued frequently up to the present time with variations of “Senior Week.”

DACS, LCSH, AAT

Kerin Shellenbarger 2024