View a PDF file of the Doctoral Regalia Brochure

Those who earn the doctorate attain the highest level of academic achievement. Now The University of Southern Mississippi will honor the excellence of its doctoral graduates with custom regalia. In a stately color of antique gold, with black and white accents and a uniquely Southern Miss design, the regalia makes its formal debut at the May 2007 commencement ceremony, ushering in an important tradition at the University.

Available for purchase by all holders of Southern Miss doctoral degrees (Ph.D., Ed.D., D.M.A., D.M.E., Au.D.), the adoption of the regalia was an initiative that originated from the Traditions Committee of the Alumni Association. Following recommendations from the Traditions and the Executive committees of the Alumni Association, the Association's Board of Directors subsequently made a formal recommendation to University President Dr. Shelby Thames to implement the concept. Upon receipt of the proposal and additional recommendations from an Executive body of the University Commencement Committee and the Executive Cabinet, President Thames approved the concept and the design prototype manufactured by Oak Hall Cap and Gown of Salem, Va.

Like two other commencement effects, the University mace and the president’s medallion (designed by Ronlin Foreman ’87), the new custom doctoral regalia was designed by a Southern Miss alumnus. Dr. Reginald M. Houze ’00 designed the regalia and, along with Southern Miss Alumni Association Executive Director Bob Pierce, guided the process of adoption and implementation. Dr. Houze, who has a vast knowledge of heraldry and ceremonial protocol, did extensive research on the origins and evolution of academic costumes.

"The design of the new custom doctoral regalia incorporates all the present day elements that hearken back to the Middle Ages in Europe," said Houze, who is also a member of the Southern Miss faculty and the Alumni Association's Traditions Committee.  "For example, the shape of the sleeves are indicative of the wearer’s status and the velvet panels that face down the front are akin to scholarly shawls worn by academics in medieval times."

Academic costumes trace their origins to those worn by faculty and students at medieval European universities. With only minor modifications, these garments have remained largely unchanged since the 16th century. Efforts to keep warm in drafty monasteries resulted in capes, with hoods attached, worn with robes – though robes were typical of medieval men and women and hardly confined to monks. Standards for colleges and universities in the United States were established in 1895 with the adoption of an intercollegiate code, which specifies design and color appropriate for various degrees. As in medieval times, the costumes worn on formal academic occasions denote the wearer’s academic heritage. The modern academic regalia consists of three parts, the gown or robe, a headpiece and a hood. The gown denotes the wearer’s level of education, with the doctor’s gown being full flowing with large bell shaped sleeves.

Each university must work within the confines of the established national code to find a unique way to represent itself. The most notable incorporation of the Southern Miss doctoral regalia is its gold color. The warm and stately hue is an academic variation that combines well with the traditional black and the white accents.

"Southern Miss graduates have a great deal of pride and take ownership of our university colors," Houze said.  "It was a high priority to choose a color that was indicative of the heritage and spirit of our alma mater. The color of the regalia is a warm gold that displays our colors tastefully and with distinction."

The new regalia, when worn at ceremonies at other institutions, will provide Southern Miss doctors with a distinctive look.  Special events, at which the wearing of the regalia is required, are ever increasing. For Dr. Chris Ward, a 2003 Ph.D. graduate who is now an assistant scientist at the University of Florida and former Harvard post-doctoral fellow, the adoption of the regalia is most welcomed. Ward says that he was struck by the large number of faculty members with regalia that showed off their school colors.

"During my time in Boston, I had the opportunity to attend many academic ceremonies," Ward said. "Whether it was the crimson of Harvard, the red of Boston University, the maroon of Boston College or even the dull gray of MIT, these faculty members stood out and their alma maters were clearly identifiable." Additional schools with custom doctoral regalia include Florida State, Duke, Tulane, Alabama and Ohio State. Southern Miss is the first Mississippi university to adopt customized regalia.

"I wish I had had the regalia then, not only to show it off in the company of my colleagues, but also to inspire my students to go on for a higher degree," Ward noted.

The robe boasts other custom features with the most distinctive being the University seal, featuring the Aubrey K. Lucas Administration Building dome, embroidered in gold at chest level on both velvet panels. The dome has long served as the visual center of the Southern Miss campus and its image is an immediate identifier of the University in-state, across the country and abroad.

While the gown denotes the wearer’s level of education, it is the hood that adds meaning and dimension to the academic costume, thus indicating the source of the degree. Changed little since medieval times, the hood is worn falling from the shoulders down the back of the gown in a display of vivid color. It is edged with velvet, which by its color denotes the field or discipline in which the degree was earned. Hence, The University of Southern Mississippi hood is lined in black and gold satin and trimmed with the appropriate discipline color velvet.

The codes and regulations for the hood’s velvet trim conform to those established in 1895 by the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume. With only slight modifications by committees of the American Council on Education in 1959 and in 1986, the original regulations still govern. Thus, the velvet trim is in no way meant to match or color coordinate with the school colors of the gown or hood. Over the years, Southern Miss has awarded five types of doctoral degrees, each having a specific corresponding color for the velvet. All holders of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), regardless of the field of study, wear hoods trimmed in dark blue velvet. Light blue is the color that represents the field of education for the Doctor of Education degree (Ed.D). Holders of both the Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) and the Doctor of Music Education (D.M.E. – discontinued at Southern Miss) wear hoods trimmed in pink velvet. The University also awards the Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.), represented by the velvet color green.  As an added incentive, beginning with the May 2007 commencement, the University will provide the hood as a gift to those who graduate with doctorates from that date forward.

The Southern Miss regalia is finished with a six-corner black velvet tam with gold metallic center button and tassel that are sewn in place. Only those who hold doctorates may wear a tam – bachelor's and master's degree holders wear the stiff mortarboard cap. The tam, like a beret, is to be worn on the top of the head, at a slight jaunty angle, with the tassel dangling down between the wearer’s left eye and ear. It should never be worn on the back of the head, nor should the tassel be worn on the side or to the back of the head.

Every aspect of the regalia’s design was selected to give our alumni a garment that would be indicative of the pride that comes with earning a Southern Miss doctorate. It should be noted that Southern Miss is the only school to date to use this particular antique gold Dalton crepe cloth for a custom doctoral gown. The design is sure to connect all wearers with the University no matter how far away they roam.

“This important new tradition will distinguish those who have obtained the highest level of academic achievement at The University of Southern Mississippi from those earning doctorates at other institutions,” Pierce said. “Those proudly wearing the custom regalia instantly become ambassadors of The University of Southern Mississippi wherever they may be—across the country or around the globe.”

The University of Southern Mississippi custom doctoral regalia is manufactured exclusively by Oak Hall Cap and Gown of Salem, Va. Each gown and tam is made to the exact measurements of the graduate. Established in 1889, Oak Hall now includes Cottrell and Leonard, the original Cap and Gown company in the United States. Doctoral alumni and Southern Miss Commencement participants can purchase the regalia through Barnes & Noble at Southern Miss or by contacting Oak Hall directly. This is most appropriate as a large percentage of those who choose to purchase regalia are alumni who now teach at other universities. Many such alums have been waiting several years for custom regalia and have a great deal of excitement about the exclusive design.

Dr. Michael Ellzey, a 2006 D.M.A. graduate who is now assistant professor of trumpet at Eastern New Mexico University, is overjoyed to at last be able to purchase the custom outfit. In fact, he was the first person to place an order.

"I cannot wait to wear this new regalia among my faculty colleagues who wear colorful gowns from Texas, Southern California, Rice, New Mexico and other schools," he says. "Being so far away from Hattiesburg, and knowing that I’m the only graduate in this area, I think this is a perfect opportunity to visually display my pride in Southern Miss in an academic setting."