The Class of 1910 celebrated its Commencement ceremony at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in downtown Troy.

Notable Moments in Commencement History

Rensselaer’s first Commencement was April 26, 1826, in the old Bank Place in Troy. Asa Fitch, a member of the class of 1827, recorded the event in his diary. The graduates delivered demonstration lectures on scientific subjects, probably the first of their kind in American education, in language described by Fitch as “plain, familiar…no one attempting to be elegant
or flowery in his discourse.”

Commencement was not held on campus until 1913 when the ’87 Gym provided a large enough space to accommodate the ceremony. The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall hosted 37 consecutive commencements from 1876-1912. According to Rensselaer historian Samuel Rezneck, “For want of a suitable auditorium until 1913, the exercises took place in various halls in the city, after 1876 in the Music Hall... In 1913 Rensselaer acquired a gymnasium, which provided facilities for its Commencement exercises.”

The Class of 1913 was the first to experience Commencement on campus, in the ’87 Gymnasium.

The first honorary degree (Doctor of Engineering) was awarded at Commencement in 1916 to Robert W. Hunt, a longtime trustee (Hunt Dormitory is named for him).

The Rensselaer Mace, created in 1999 for the first time in Rensselaer’s history, is carried at the head of all academic processions and is prominently displayed during academic ceremonies. The modern mace grew out of an ancient tradition to use it to preserve order. It can be carried before a high functionary as a symbol of authority.

The Rensselaer Flag combines historic and contemporary elements to represent the Institute’s origins and the present. The design is based on the coat of arms of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, the great-great grandfather of Rensselaer’s founder, Stephen Van Rensselaer.