The Mace Elizabeth “Libby” Allison has been chosen as the grand marshal of the procession at Berklee College of Music’s 2026 commencement ceremony. Allison retires this year after serving for more than 50 years in music classrooms, including over 20 as a professor of music education at Berklee. She has taught music education methods courses as well as Philosophy of Education; served as the NAfME Collegiate advisor; produced the Education Collective (the department recital); and worked in faculty development as an equity partner, ETUDE scholar, and learning community facilitator. Allison cofounded the Berklee KidsJam program, and has also provided professional development for Berklee City Music. She continues her work with the executive board of the Massachusetts Music Educators Association and has presented at conferences in the US, Europe, and Mexico. Her contributions to the profession have been recognized with awards from Berklee and MMEA. The Presidential Medallion The Berklee medallion was inaugurated at the 2000 college commencement by then-president Lee Eliot Berk in honor of Berklee’s 55th anniversary. In the Middle Ages, medallions wrought in different metals such as gold, silver, and bronze became an accepted element of civil and academic ceremonial garb. The medallion symbolized a badge of office. Adhering to the customs of European educational institutions, American universities and colleges adopted the tradition of a medallion made to be worn over the academic robe as part of their presidential ceremonial dress. The central circular bronze medallion bears Berklee’s seal, upon which is engraved the Berklee motto, Esse quam videri, meaning “to be, rather than to seem to be.” The words “Berklee College of Music” arch over the top half of the seal. Treble clefs flank the seal, and the words “Founded 1945” run underneath. The entire medallion is edged with a bezel design. The decorative links that support the medallion alternate between the letter B intertwined with a treble clef and the college’s seal. The presidential medallion has become an important ceremonial symbol for Berklee. It is worn on select academic occasions to reflect the high ideals and traditions Berklee has established as the The cap and gown have characterized academic gatherings since the medieval origins of the university. The doctor’s gown is the fullest and the most elaborate, with long bell sleeves and velvet panels in front, and stripes of the same material on the sleeves. The bachelor’s gown is the simplest, looking very much like a choir robe. In the 20th century, American colleges began choosing the colors for their college doctoral gowns. Berklee’s colors are gray and black, with red piping. Trustees and other college leaders and stage dignitaries in academic gatherings normally wear the robe of either the college with which they are currently associated or the one from which they graduated. Hoods are also different, with the longest and fullest being the doctor’s hood. The inside of the hood is often lined with colors to identify the institution that granted the degree, and the border around the hood indicates the subject in which the degree was taken. The degree in music is characterized by a pink hood, for example, and honorary degree recipients receive both an inscribed degree and their doctoral hood attesting to the recognition they have received. Some of the other commonly seen colors on doctoral hoods are purple for law, forest green for medicine, and light blue for education. leader in contemporary music education. Academic Dress
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