SUNY Geneseo opened on September 12, 1871, as the Geneseo Normal and Training School with academic offerings focused on teacher training. Normal schools played a crucial role in establishing a formal two-year program for teacher training, which eventually grew to four-year courses of study.

Geneseo continued to expand its offerings, including training for teacher-librarians, teachers of children with special needs, and speech pathologists. The College awarded its first baccalaureate degree in 1940, and in 1948, it joined other normal schools and colleges to form the State University of New York (SUNY) system. During the next three decades, the College developed liberal arts and sciences programs and added several professional curricula. The first master’s degrees were awarded in 1951. 

Today, SUNY Geneseo is New York State’s Public Honors College. The College, consisting of three schools-the School of Education, the School of Business, and the School of Arts and Sciences-boasts a student body of nearly 4,000 students who have the ability to choose from more than 120 programs of study, including undergraduate majors, interdisciplinary minors, graduate degrees, and partnership programs with local and national schools. 

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Academic attire generally consists of cap, gown, and hood worn on formal occasions at institutions of higher learning. This attire reflects the ecclesiastical garb of the medieval period when scholars were nearly all members of the clergy.

The bachelor’s gown is worn closed, distinguished by its long, pointed sleeves; the master’s gown is designed to be worn open and has long sleeves with an arc cut in front and square base in the back. The doctoral gown is worn open or closed and has velvet panels down the front and three velvet bars on the round, full sleeve.

A distinguishing feature of academic attire is the hood. Its size, shape, and color designate the degree earned and the college or university. Bachelor’s hoods are rarely used, but they are similar in design to master’s hoods and are three feet long. The master’s hood measures three and a half feet. The doctoral hood is rounder and four feet long. Hoods are lined with the official colors of the institution conferring the degree, such as blue and gold for the State University of New York. The binding around the hood is velvet and the color indicates the major field of study.

Caps are normally black and the most common is the four-pointed mortarboard, but tams are also worn. Tassels are worn over the left front quarter after the degree has been conferred. Tassels were historically black although doctoral degree holders may wear a shorter gold tassel.

The faculty and staff procession is led by the Grand Marshal, who carries the Geneseo mace. The mace dates to medieval times and is a symbol of authority. Geneseo’s mace is carried only at the New Student Convocation and Commencement.

The mace and a companion medallion were designed and created by Professor Willard Peterson in 1971 in response to a commission by a committee of students and alumni chaired by Robert Redden. Peterson’s design for the Geneseo mace fashions New York State cherry wood into the handle and the traditional spikes. The ornamentation features a blue lapis lazuli gemstone (found in the US only in New York State) and honors the Geneseo blue. The sunburst surrounding the stone alternates twelve gold and silver shafts, reflecting the light of learning.

The mace was a gift to the College by the Alpha Clionian Corporation. The medallion, worn by the president as a seal of office, was given by the Class of 1969.

A new lanyard for the medallion was designed and created by Professor Patrice Case in 2016. A cabinet to house both was designed and constructed by Professor Paul Hepler and presented to the College by the Alumni Association. It stands in the Tower Room of Doty Hall, where the mace and medallion are permanently displayed.