While the commencement ceremony in Kenan Stadium belongs to everyone, it’s clear that the undergraduates are the stars on Mother’s Day. The day before, the graduate students have their own star turn at the University hooding ceremony.
The hood is an accessory worn over the Ph.D. robe. In the picture to the left, our graduate Giang Nguyen (center) is being hooded by Provost James Dean (left) and Economics Professor Helen Tauchen (right). The darker blue facing of the hood indicates that her degree is a Ph.D., and the Carolina-blue lining is our very own. Dr. Nguyen begins her own academic career this fall as an assistant professor at Penn State University Business School.
The Economics Department had 13 students receive their Ph.D. degrees in the past year, and six of them (Giang Nguyen, Anthony Diercks, Brett Matsumoto, Melati Nungsari, Wasin Siwasarit and Forrest Spence) were hooded at the ceremony. With them were faculty advisers Helen Tauchen, Patrick Conway, Max Croce, Donna Gilleskie, David Guilkey, Ricardo Colacito and Brian McManus.