Communication Department News

Create your own snapshot from Convocation using Gigapan. Click here or on the photo below to zoom in on Convocation from several different angles, find your friends and parents, and grab a snapshot of the special day!

May 21, 2009

Approximately 950 students from the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies received bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at the school's convocation ceremony, held at the College Avenue Gym in New Brunswick.

Marked by singing from the Rutgers Queen's Chorale, speeches by Dean Jorge Reina Schement, SCILS Alumni Association President Jennifer Sneed and undergraduate communication major Angelica Fattal, the highlight of the ceremony for all involved was the chance to walk across the stage and celebrate the accomplishment of finishing a demanding university education.

More than 1,500 family members, friends and guests packed into the gymnasium. Some parents were so eager to see their children graduate that they arrived almost three hours before the ceremony began.

Graduates received Bachelor of Arts degrees in communication; journalism and media studies; and information technology and informatics; Master of Communication and Information Studies and Master of Library and Information Science degrees; and interdisciplinary Doctor of Philosophy degrees.

SCILS Assistant Professor Anselm Spoerri, as part of the "whereRU" project, captured a wide view of the ceremony using robotic cameras, creating Gigapan images of convocation. These images allow viewers to zoom in and view the entire ceremony in impressive detail.

Viewers can zoom in and create snapshots of themselves and their family members and friends by clicking the "Create snapshot" link below each Gigapan image. (Users will be asked to log in and create a free account.)

Viewers can also explore Gigapan panoramas of the SCILS Convocation in Google Earth, also by clicking a link underneath each image.

A Gigapan of the SCILS Convocation has been included in the curated set of "Commencements" on the gigapan.org site as one of four examples. "SCILS is one of the early adopters of using Gigapans to capture its Convocation," Spoerri said. " Next year many more universities will do this."

The faculty, staff, and administration of SCILS congratulates all 2009 graduates! Please enjoy this interactive display of the graduation convocation, and help us help the next generation of students get a great interdisciplinary education in communication and information by making a contribution to our school.