Chief faculty marshal Rob Wallace carries the official university mace, symbolizing the authority of the university president, during a commencement ceremony. The chief faculty marshal carries it at the head of the academic procession and, in placing it on its stand, signals the beginning of the ceremony. Photo by Christopher Gannon.
Rob Wallace, associate professor in ecology, evolution and organismal biology, will don a different cap this weekend as the chief faculty marshal during commencement ceremonies. Friday's graduate college ceremony will mark his 100th as a marshal at Iowa State. The first was in 1999. Currently, 29 faculty members serve as marshals at graduate and undergraduate ceremonies to help make the most of the students' big day. Wallace spoke with Inside about being a marshal.
What do marshals do?
Rob Wallace
The marshals, who come from all the colleges on campus (except Vet Med, which has its own ceremony), are tasked to count and seat students, row by row, as they process in. Marshals are responsible for moving students by college to the stage from where they're seated and making sure they have the reader's card, pass through the photo stations and are ready to receive their diploma. Marshals also are responsible for organizing the recessional to get faculty and others off the stage. Marshals have extra responsibilities for the graduate ceremony that may include the hooding ceremony for doctoral candidates.
What was your path to becoming a commencement faculty marshal?
I started as a convocation marshal for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. There was a call for people who were interested, and throughout my life commencement has been a big deal -- from eighth grade on. I spoke at eighth grade commencement, gave the valedictorian address in high school and the welcome address when I graduated college. I like to preserve the traditions of the institution and see that they are carried out effectively.
It is an unusual service because there is no obligation to do it. It is purely voluntary and I believe the marshals -- many who have done it for 15 years or more -- enjoy seeing students complete that accomplishment of hearing their name and walking across the stage. It's a satisfying component of being a faculty member. Everyone is happy on commencement day!
What's the significance of the gowns marshals wear?
With a few exceptions, all marshals wear the doctoral gown of the university from which they received their Ph.D. Collectively, they represent the essence of what a university is about by bringing faculty together from many places to share knowledge. You'll see lots of different colors. The one I've worn for many years is from Rutgers University. When former President (Gregory) Geoffroy got here, Iowa State's doctoral gown was just black. He used the Rutgers gown as a model for the current Iowa State gown, which the university president and senior administrators wear for the ceremony.
What's the key to a successful commencement?
A large group of volunteers. Registrar Jennifer Suchan orchestrates the commencements with extremely detailed plans to have everything run well. There's a bevy of volunteers coming from academic advising or other areas to help with student check-in at Hilton Coliseum. The entire staff of the office of the registrar is charged with carrying out the physical execution of the ceremonies, and the staff at Hilton also make it possible. This is a spectator event, so we want to make it look organized.
Share a few highlights from 25 years as a faculty marshal.
I have had students I coached in soccer or baseball when they were 11 or 12 years old give me a bear hug on stage. My son graduated in the rain in Jack Trice Stadium in spring 2021. I didn't know he was coming, so the most satisfying moment was when I got a hug from him as he walked across the stage to get his diploma. Seeing students or advisees complete their degrees after some academic concerns that we helped them through is very satisfying.
