Grace Scheibner, ALB '90, has been Harvard's Director of Commencement since 1993. A visit to her office two days before Harvard's 348th Commencement left little doubt it was command central for the Morning Exercises: posters of seating charts were propped against walls and furniture, telephones rang incessantly, Secret Service agents arrived to discuss security for this year's Commencement Speaker, Alan Greenspan. Despite the frenzied pace, the mood in the office was calm. Planters filled with red silk geraniums shared shelf space with potpourri and hand-painted boxes from Mexico. Scheibner, soft-spoken, with an air of quiet elegance, remained composed.
Linda Benanti, a freelance writer and Certificate in Publishing and Communications candidate, spoke to Scheibner about her responsibilities as Director of Commencement, her Extension School courses, and memories of her own graduation day. What follows is an edited version of that conversation.
Grace Scheibner, ALB '90 |
When you were one of the graduates marching into Harvard Yard on Commencement Day 1990, what would you have said if someone told you that three years later you'd be the person directing the event?
(laughing) If someone had told me I was going to be the Commencement Director would I have believed them? Absolutely not. It was the furthest thing from my mind. I never even gave it a thought.
Let's talk a little bit about your background. You graduated with a degree in psychology. Was your original goal to work in that field?
Yes. But I need to backtrack a bit. During my youth, I had the opportunity to travel extensively. I lived in Mexico City for ten years and became fluent in Spanish. When I returned to the States I realized there was a need in the Latin American community for bilingual psychologists who could counsel women, so I enrolled at Harvard Extension School to finish working on my degree. It took me seven years to complete.
Bilingual counseling for women seems worlds apart from making sure a thousand details are taken care of perfectly for Commencement Day. How did you go from a career track in psychology to being Director of Commencement?
Well, I also brought some skills with me to Harvard. I'd been working for 14 years as a corporate event planner in the Boston area, doing very large, very complex corporate events and international conferences. When I finished my ALB, I knew I wanted to continue studying psychology at the graduate level, but I'd also fallen in love with the environment at Harvard, so I sought employment here. My initial job was in 1991, planning international conferences in Florence and Amsterdam for the Harvard Institute of International Development and the Harvard AIDS Institute. In 1993, when the position of Commencement Director opened up, I applied for it.
As a means to support yourself while you pursued your graduate degree?
Yes. (smiling) The irony of it all is that I sought a position at Harvard that would allow me to pursue my primary goal of a graduate degree in psychology. However, at the moment, I'm no longer entertaining the thought of going into the field of counseling; this job has become my primary focus, but I continue to take graduate courses in psychology.
Do you find those courses helpful in dealing with some aspects of this job?
I find I use psychology in the workplace almost every day--particularly around Commencement time. It's helpful in dealing with so many people--from dignitaries to faculty to colleagues in the workplace. You need good interpersonal skills. It's important to be able to relate to people, understand their needs, and try to fulfill their expectations. After all, this is a customer service job. We are here to serve the Harvard community with the best we have to plan for the Commencement Morning Exercises.
You've found a job in which your corporate experience and Extension School course-work has merged. Can you think of anything else it takes to be a successful Director of Commencement?
You have to be a detail-oriented person. A person who not only has the background and an understanding of the planning process, but who also has an instinct for what needs to be done. Many things in this job aren't concretely spelled out. You have to sense what to do. You have to be able to prioritize, and when those priorities are constantly changing, you have to know how to step back and put it all in focus again.
Planning the Harvard Commencement must be a little like planning for the Super Bowl: the event happens once a year and lasts only a few hours, but it takes a tremendous amount of preparation. How far in advance do you begin and what are some of your responsibilities?
I begin planning one year in advance. Planning Commencement is an overwhelming task because of the myriad logistics. It's an event that is attended by approximately 30 thousand people, including guests and graduates from 11 professional schools and 13 undergraduate houses. In the academic procession alone, there are faculty, clergy, dignitaries, all the vice presidents, members of the governing board, etc. My office is responsible for providing direction and instructions to almost every office in the University--from top administrators, to faculty, the Houses, and the graduate schools. We handle tickets. We send invitations to the Harvard community and special guests of the University. And we're responsible for the seating plan in Tercentenary Theater for the Morning Exercises.
Besides all those demands, are there special challenges you face?
There are issues surrounding protocol, Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, crowd management, and contingency plans for inclement weather.
What happens in the event of a storm?
People are able to watch the ceremony on large screen televisions that are set up in some of the buildings on campus, such as the Science Center. However, it would have to be a real downpour, and, luckily, it's a problem we haven't had to face.
About the weather two days from now . . .
(smiles) I've already had my ear plugged to the radio station, so I know the forecast for June 10, 1999 is for pleasant weather, in the 70s, without rain. Of course we worry about bad weather because the event is going on outdoors. It's a logistical nightmare if you have to go to a rain program. But with any large event, there's always a built-in contingency plan.
People often talk about their jobs in terms of rhythm: the work week might begin slowly, but by Thursday there's a bit more pressure to complete a task before the weekend.
Do you find that during the final days before Commencement you put in longer hours, take work home with you at night, work on weekends?
(smiling) All of the above. You work until the last "i" is dotted and "t" is crossed, whatever it takes to get the job done. But I think you'll find any professional will tell you that. With this job, everything I do is based on planning, with sufficient lead time so I'm able to do the part of the job that is constant--all the administrative duties of providing updated directions, instructions, and maps. Then I work on the things that are specific to any given year. For example, security issues surrounding a Commencement speaker or the special requirements of a dignitary; those are variables that change from year to year. But by the end of April or the beginning of May, I'm just doing whatever it takes. It's like putting a giant puzzle together: as I get closer and closer to the deadline, I see the pieces starting to fit. I just hope, at the 11th hour, I haven't neglected or forgotten something because there are so many people coming in, hotel bookings, plans that have been made. I just hope I haven't overlooked a guest.
Would you describe your feelings as you look around Harvard Yard during Morning Exercises and see the result of your labors?
When I see the colorful processions and the students filing in, it always brings tears to my eyes. Just to know I've had some part in making this happen--it's a wonderful feeling. But there are so many people who have pulled together to make the day a success: the News Office, maintenance, Disability Services; everybody makes a contribution. And I think all of us who are involved with Commencement hope that it's all going to go the way we've planned. There are still a lot of people out there in the early hours of the morning working on seating, on platforms. You just hope everything and everyone is going to be ready--that the honorands in the town cars will arrive on time, the processions will start on time at 10 am. It's not just one area of concern, it's the whole thing--the whole event. And it's only after the day is over, and you hear back from people, that you know whether things went the way you expected.
Do you find Commencement Day evokes memories of your own graduation nine years ago?
Though no year is the same as another, Commencement Day at Harvard always makes me remember something of what I felt when I graduated.
What do you recall about that day?
It was one of the happiest days of my life. I showed up at Sever Quad early in the morning. My family had arrived from New York and had assembled outside the gates. I remember marveling at the fact that all the graduates were gathering without previous rehearsal. I just lined up where somebody said to "line up," and after what seemed like an eternity, we were told to start marching. Our Commencement Speaker was Helmut Kohl. Ella Fitzgerald received an honorary degree. It was truly exciting. I think that's part of what makes me so proud and happy to be able to help plan the Morning Exercises: it has deep personal meaning for me because I went through it myself. It's really a way of being able to turn around and give something back to Harvard. To be able to work on a project of the importance and magnitude of the Harvard Commencement--it's not a position I take lightly.
Especially with centuries of tradition to uphold . . .
The entire ceremony is steeped in tradition. For instance, as early as the first Commencement in 1642, the citizens of Cambridge and the six surrounding towns arrived at Harvard for a weekend of feasting and merrymaking. From what I understand, the crowds were quite raucous (smiles), so the sheriffs of Middlesex and Suffolk counties were called in to maintain order. Today, though their role is symbolic, they still attend. In fact, the University Marshal opens the ceremony by saying "Mr. Sheriff, pray give us order." Then the sheriff of Middlesex County strikes the platform "thrice" with his staff and declares, "The meeting will be in order." There is also a booklet called "The Form of Conferring Degrees" that the University Marshal, President, and various deans of Harvard College read from during the ceremony; there are traditional hymns and traditional anthems.
It's wonderful that Harvard maintains that connection to the past, since so much of what we experience today is high tech. But have you noticed any overall changes during your six years as Director?
Commencement has definitely gotten bigger, and it continues to grow. There's been an increase in the number of graduate students, so the number of well-wishers has increased. In addition, the event has become very popular. There have always been some students who opt for receiving their diplomas through the mail, but now there seem to be more students, and more people, who want to attend. Also, before computers were widely used, everything was done manually or on the typewriter. Now, technology enables us to turn out all kinds of sophisticated lists. Our signs are state-of-the-art. We keep working on and improving these enhancements as more and more people attend.
So the computer has made your job easier?
(laughs) Well, with technology we're capable of doing more, so people expect more.
As we speak, the excitement in Harvard Yard is palpable. Tents and platforms are being set up; families are gathering and taking pictures. Yet the mood in this office remains serene. Much of it is has to do with your demeanor, but it's also the ambiance you've created. What does the way you've decorated this office reveal about you?
When I lived in Mexico, I was very attracted to native crafts, particularly hand-painted boxes. I like to surround myself with pretty things; I appreciate flowers and color. Ambiance is important to me because of the frenzied pace, all the phone calls. There's really nothing tranquil about this job, so I've tried to create the most peaceful environment possible. But this office isn't just about me. If you come in and say "Isn't this lovely? Isn't this tranquil?" that is what I want you to feel. I know I'm soft-spoken. I try to convey a sense of peace, so that when people come to me they don't wonder: Does this person really have things under control? Does she really know what she's doing? I always try to maintain--and this comes from very good planning, otherwise you could never pull it off--a very calm demeanor. And if this office is indicative of anything, I think that's it.
For you, Commencement really is a "beginning," since as soon as the ceremony is over, you begin planning the Morning Exercises for the year 2000. Any thoughts?
Each year I find people's expectations are higher, so we'll try to meet those expectations. There's always something to be improved; one can never sit back and say "It's perfect." We strive to make each year better than the last. I personally think Harvard is the best, so we'll give it our very best shot.
|
![[spacer]](../../images/blank.gif){kind=small}