Heritage College Commencement

The HCOM Commencement ceremony will take place at the Convocation Center on 95 Richland Avenue, Athens Ohio 45701.

Doors open to guests at 8:30am and the ceremony starts at 10am.  The ceremony is approximately 2 hours.

Lost and found is located at Will Call. After the event, all items will be taken to Baker University Center Guest Services (740-593-4000).

No reservations are needed for any seating. All seating, including limited mobility sections, is first come, first served. There are no tickets required for the Commencement Ceremony. 

Academic processional consists of interested faculty members wearing regalia from the institution by which their degree was conferred and walking on to the arena floor while sitting behind the graduates in support of their hard work and dedication towards their D.O. degrees. 

Mentor's hooding graduates will be seated on the arena floor with their graduate and cannot participate in processional. 

Faculty interested in being apart of the processional should email Christina Baumann, baumannc@ohio.edu, for additional information. 

Graduation announcements are available through Ohio University Printing Services. 

Ohio University Printing Services

The official Heritage College of Medicine Commencement 2025 Invitation!

All graduates who plan to participate in Commencement must wear regalia. Regalia will be shipped directly to each graduate, and graduates are expected to bring their academic attire with them on graduation day. The deadline to order graduate regalia is April 1st, 2025. Graduates should unpack their regalia upon arrival to verify that the regalia is correct and to steam their regalia.

Order Graduate Regalia

Any issues with regalia upon arrival can be directed to (540) 387-0000 or customercare@oakhalli.com

Note: This is not the same link for mentors who wish to rent regalia.

Due to changes in academic regalia provided by our vendor we highly discourage graduates from borrowing academic regalia from previous HCOM graduates in order to have a unified look among all graduates. Our current regalia was used for the first time with the Class of 2023 - gowns should not be borrowed or purchased from any Class before the graduating class of 2023.

Graduates should arrive on Saturday at 9 a.m. in the garage under the Convocation Center with their regalia on and ready.  If the graduate also has a mentor, the mentor will also need to arrive at the same time and place as the graduate. 

Saturday, May 10 – Athens                                                                                                                           

8:30 a.m.  |  Doors open to guests at the Convocation Center
9:00 a.m.  |  Graduates and mentors will assemble at the Convocation Center
10:00 a.m.  |  Commencement ceremony begins

Yes! Graduates are required to be at rehearsal on Friday, mentors have to option to attend.

Friday, May 9 – Athens

10:30 a.m.  |  Graduate Rehearsal (mentors optional) at Convocation Center 
1:00 p.m.  |  Awards Ceremony at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium - Reception to follow

There is no limit on the amount of guests and the event is not ticketed. 

Grad Team productions will be contacting your email or your permanent address with proofs of your commencement photo, which are available for purchase.

All tassels go on the left side of your tam, for graduates and mentors. 

Do not bring anything with you onto the arena floor that you cannot hold in your pockets, you will not return to your seat after you cross the stage. 

Diplomas will be mailed to all graduates. If graduates need to update their mailing address or verify the address on file, please contact graduation@ohio.edu as soon as possible to update or verify your address.

Diplomas are scheduled to be mailed 10-15 business days after graduation. This address will also be used for mailing items to graduates who do not attend the in-person ceremony after the event.

Certified Electronic Credetails can be ordered from the registrar's office. Learn more about an official, highly secure electronic copy of your Ohio University diploma/certificate that may be downloaded and shared for a lifetime.

Certified Electronic Credentials 

Degree Verifications
The Senior Director of Student Affairs provides proof of degree verification. Graduates of Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine seeking degree verification for residency or state licensure can request verification by submitting all requests by email to Amanda Mansfield, Records Management Specialist (hixsona@ohio.edu), or by fax 740-590-2399, or by mail to:

OU-HCOM Student Affairs
191 W. Union St. 
Heritage Hall 283B
Athens, OH 45701

For questions about degree and enrollment verifications, please contact Amanda Mansfield by email (hixsona@ohio.edu) or by phone 740-593-2156.

YES! Graduates must apply with the Registrar's Office to graduate with Ohio University  

Learn more about Applying to Graduate.

A special part of the commencement ceremony is the opportunity for you to name a mentor to “hood” you on stage during Commencement. A mentor is someone who has encouraged and fostered a student's academic accomplishments. They should best represent the spirit and the art of medical education. Students are allowed only ONE mentor at graduation ceremony. A mentor is not required for graduation. If you do not have a mentor that you would wish to hood you, your Campus Dean will hood you on stage at the ceremony. 

Your mentor must meet the following criteria: 

The mentor must have a doctoral degree (degrees include, but are not limited to: D.O., M.D., D.D.S., D.P.M., D.V.M., D.C., D.M.D., O.D., Ph.D., J.D., etc.).

The mentor must be an established member of the professional community who has practiced/worked in their field for a minimum of one year. Peers and fellow classmates cannot serve as mentors.

Mentors will be expected to wear academic regalia. Mentors are welcome to bring their own regalia or order rental regalia.

The deadline for renting mentor regalia is Tuesday March 25th. Rented regalia will be available for pickup on the morning of commencement in the lower lobby of the Convocation Center, beginning at 8:45 a.m. Rented regalia should be returned immediately following the ceremony.

Order Mentor Rental Regalia 

Note: This is NOT the same link for graduates who are purchasing regalia.

Rented Regalia for mentors includes gown, hood, tassel, and mortarboard cap. (Hats are not required for mentors.) , Tams can be purchased for mentors who wish to wear a tam instead of the mortarboard cap. Tams are available as an individual item to purchase.

Order Individual Tam 

Steps to Place Tam Order: You will click Let's Get Started > HCOM Package Ship to Residence > Osteopathic Medicine > scroll to the bottom of the packages and select individual items > from there you will be able to select doctoral tam and check out. 

Mentors will assemble in the garage under the Convocation Center at 9 a.m. with their graduates in their regalia and ready.

Saturday, May 10 – Athens

8:30 a.m.  |  Doors open to guests at the Convocation Center
9:00 a.m.  |  Graduates and mentors will assemble at the Convocation Center
10:00 a.m.  |  Commencement ceremony begins

No, mentors are not required to be present at graduate rehearsal.  Mentors are more than welcome to come and be apart of rehearsal, it is optional.  Rehearsal on Friday is only required for graduating students. 

Friday, May 9 – Athens

10:30 a.m.  |  Graduate Rehearsal (mentors optional) at Convocation Center

A mentor is someone who has encouraged and fostered a student's academic accomplishments. They should best represent the spirit and the art of medical education. A mentor is not required for graduation. The criteria for mentor selection are as follows:

Each student may choose ONE mentor for Commencement.

The mentor must have a doctoral degree (degrees include, but are not limited to: D.O., M.D., D.D.S., D.P.M., D.V.M., D.C., D.M.D., O.D., Ph.D., J.D., etc.).

The mentor must be an established member of the professional community who has practiced/worked in their field for a minimum of one year. Peers and fellow classmates cannot serve as mentors.

Your name (First and Last)

Phonetic spelling of your name

Doctoral Degree

University where you doctoral degree was conferred

Mentor email

Mentors phone number

Need to rent regalia?

Will attend commencement ceremony?

Watch this brief video provided by the university on how to hood your graduate:

Hooding Ceremony Demonstration

You can choose as many of the options or none at all: 

On stage - Military Uniform

In the pre-event slideshow shown on the jumbotron at the Convocation Center

In the virtual program

Participate in Military Commissioning

Being recognized on stage at commencement means you will report to portal 2 on the arena floor in your military uniform with your regalia on a hanger on the day of commencement.  You will then give your regalia to an event staff to have ready for you at another disclosed location for after you cross the stage. Once recognized on stage you will then go change into your regalia and make your way back onto the floor to your assigned seat.   

The Heritage College is proud to recognize all military services, active members and veterans. 

This ceremony, in which the new Officers take their commissioning oaths, marks the end of a four-year journey of education, training, and self-discovery and the beginning of a journey of military service. 

Please submit a picture of your military ID or DD Form 214 to Christina Baumann (baumannc@ohio.edu) or in your first grad form email.

Military Commissioning is held on campus at Baker Center in the Ballroom on the fourth floor at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday May 10th, 2025. Lunch is provided for the military families and guests. 

You are not required to do so but if you choose to be in uniform, Class As are preferred but utilities will work. 

View the Military Commissioning virtual program