Baccalaureate Ceremony

2024 Ceremony Details

Thursday, May 16, 2024, 4:30 p.m.
Robert V. Van Fossan Theatre
63 Fremont Street
Reception immediately following in Westminster Hall

Baccalaureate is a ceremony in which the armor of the student (the degree) is blessed in a non-denominational service. Generally, the students, faculty, administration, and academic guests proceed to the venue in full academic dress. Baccalaureate has its origins in the tradition of chivalry, in which the squire goes through a special ceremony to become a knight. As a part of the ceremony, the armor, sword, and spurs are blessed in a church before knighthood is conferred.

At the Baccalaureate, students who are graduating with Latin honors by virtue of having met and maintained high academic requirements, and students who are either members of the Bloomfield College Honors Program, members of one of the five national honor societies, or a military veteran will receive honor cords that signify their academic accomplishments.  The colors of the cords represent the College, the various honors societies, various honors programs and our military veterans, and may be a single color or a combination of colors. The colors that the Bloomfield College students will be receiving are:

• Latin Honors - gold (cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude)
• Alpha Chi - blue and green (for students in all majors)
• Chi Alpha Sigma - black and gold (for student athletes)
• Bloomfield College Honors Program - red and gold
• Delta Mu Delta - purple and gold (for students majoring in Business)
• Kappa Delta Pi - purple and green (for students majoring in Education)
• McNair Program - burgundy
• Military Veteran - red, white and blue
• Psi Chi - navy and platinum (for students majoring or minoring in Psychology)
• Sigma Theta Tau International - white and orchid (for students majoring in Nursing)

To be considered for Latin honors at graduation, a student must have successfully completed at least sixteen (16) course units on the letter grade system at Bloomfield College.  Credits earned in courses below the 100 level will not be included in the cumulative grade point average upon graduation, and will not be used in determining averages for graduation with honors.  A student who has earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 and a 3.50 average in the major is eligible for cum laude; both averages must be 3.65 for magna cum laude and 3.80 for summa cum laude.

Other academic awards will also be presented at Baccalaureate.

Invitations to attend the Baccalaureate for students eligible to receive Latin honors, Bloomfield College honors program, McNair Scholars, military veteran honors, honor society cords, and certain academic awards will be sent by email (to your Bloomfield College email account) on or after May 1, 2023. Regalia is required for students participating in this event.

If you do not attend the Baccalaureate but will be attending Commencement and would like to wear your cords, you can pick them up at student check-in the morning of Commencement at College Hall. Please let the person at the desk know you were to receive honor cords.

Baccalaureate Speaker

Dr. Harry Franqui-Rivera, a native of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, is an Associate Professor of History, History Program and Global Languages Coordinator, he also co-directs the Bachelors in Applied Studies at Bloomfield College of Montclair State University of New Jersey where he has served since 2016. He served as Research Associate at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York (2012-2016).

He earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Massachusetts Amherst; a Masters from Temple University in military/diplomatic history, and a B.A. in history from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez. He proudly holds a GED from the Departamento de Instrucción Pública de Puerto Rico.

Dr. Franqui is a prolific published author, political analyst, public scholar, cultural critic, blogger and NBC, Latino Rebels, and HuffPost contributor. He writes and publishes in online magazines about current issues, geopolitics, local and national politics, and from economics to social and cultural matters. His work has been featured and he has appeared in national and international media outlets such as the New York Times, NBC, National Public Radio, Telemundo, and Univision.

Dr. Franqui specializes in Puerto Rican, Caribbean, Latino, Latin American and Military History and focuses on the 19-20 centuries. His latest book, Soldiers of the Nation: Military Service and Modern Puerto Rico, was published by the University of Nebraska in 2018 (paperback edition in 2021). He is finishing a second book, Fighting on Two Fronts: The Ordeal of the Puerto Rican Soldier during the Korean War.

He served in the US Army Reserve and National Guard for over a decade and in several academic, advocacy and policy boards such as the Puerto Rican Studies Association and the National Puerto Rican Agenda.

For further information contact:

Natasha Fernandez
Academic Affairs
973-748-9000 x1101
natasha_fernandez1@bloomfield.edu