Årets högtidsskrift - Karlstads universitet

postsCript
karlstad university was inaugurated on 22 January 1999. it was a joyful occasion for a
whole region. After careful scrutiny by experts, karlstad university College had been
fully granted university status. As a young university, we wish to preserve a long-standing
academic tradition of ceremonies dating back to the middle Ages, while commemorating
our own history and identity. We have therefore chosen to design our academic celebration
to reflect our culture as well as maintain the link to the national and international
university tradition.
doCtorAL CoNfermeNt CeremoNY
the doctoral degree-conferring ceremony has been practised in sweden since the first
ceremony took place in uppsala in the year 1600. over the centuries, the ceremony has
undergone certain changes and been upheld to various degrees. Nowadays this tradition
is an appreciated and festive event in the academia. the swedish term for the ceremony,
‘promotion’, derives from the Latin ‘promovere’, which means ‘to ‘push onwards’, ‘to
further’. usually, the ‘promoter’ (the conferrer of a degree) is a professor. At karlstad
university twenty seven ‘promovendi’ (doctors to be conferred) will take part in this
year’s ceremony.
doCtorAL hAt
the doctoral hat is conferred on the honorary doctors at karlstad university. it is tall,
black and pleated and symbolises freedom and power. the purpose of conferring honorary
doctorates is to pay tribute to persons who have contributed to knowledge development
and have a valued association with the university. Conferred doctors are entitled
to wearing the hat but at karlstad university the laurel wreath is used instead. doctoral
participants in the procession who own a hat carry it until the point in the ceremony
when the conferrer puts on his hat or laurel wreath, when they follow suit.
the LAureL WreAth
the laurel wreath, conferred on the new doctors in the ceremony is a gift from karlstad
university. it is a greek mythology symbol associated with the god Apollo. the laurel
wreath was presented to the olympic game winners as a sign of victory. the roman emperors
later copied this symbol. in the middle Ages the laurel wreath was a common sign
for poets and in this way it came to be used in scholarly contexts.
POStScRiPt
Akademisk högtid 2012, karlstads universitet 27