May 5, 2014 | Combined Reports - UConn Communications Countdown to Commencement: Commencement Traditions Commencement at UConn is a time of ceremony and pageantry, embracing traditions old and new. Sally Reis, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology, bears the mace at the head of the Academic Procession, at the start of a UConn commencement ceremony. (UConn File Photo)