UT Dallas Holds Annual Graduation Ring Ceremony
For 15 years, graduates of UT Dallas, including MBA and EMBA graduates of the Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas, have gathered for the presentation of rings representing the university and the graduates’ accomplishments.
The rings are prepared in a ritual that symbolizes the history of the university and accomplishments of professors. The night before the ceremony, the rings are placed in a box built by geosciences professor emeritus Dr. James Carter with wood gathered from the original Founders Building. The rings are enclosed with equipment provided by physics professor Dr. John Hoffman that had been used in space, and surrounded by fake moon dirt developed by Carter. The rings are then kept in the president’s office for a night before being presented to graduates.
Pamela Foster Brady, the director of UT Dallas’ Executive MBA Program, earned her Executive MBA from UT Dallas in 2011, but she opted to wait to receive her UT Dallas ring until she could receive her ring alongside the first class of students she recruited and supported through their entire EMBA experience. “I’m excited to be part of their celebration,” Brady said. “You’re never too old to go back to school.”
After accepting their rings, the graduates dipped their hands in a bowl of water from the campus reflecting pool. Traditionally, ring recipients dip their hands in the campus reflecting pool in unison, but storms prevented the new graduates from taking part in an outdoor ceremony.
To learn more about the ring ceremony at the University of Texas at Dallas, visit the school’s website.
