Purple Tam Ceremony

The 2018-19 Purple Tam Ceremony will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Neu Chapel on the University of Evansville's campus to honor those receiving full professor status. The ceremony is open to the public and campus community.

The 2018-19 purple tam recipients are:

• Meg Atwater-Singer
• Lora Becker
• Young Kim
• Dennis Malfatti
• Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz
• Gerald Seaman
• Ying Shang
• Heidi Strobel
• Joyce Stamm
• Garnet Ungar
• Patti Vilches

Historians of academic regalia trace the widespread use of "caps" to Oxford University in England, where the conferring of a cap on a graduate was likened to the Roman practice of using a cap to grant freedom to servants. Academic headwear signified freedom for scholarship and inquiry, and the velvet tam came to be associated particularly with doctoral degrees. The purple velvet tams given to the University of Evansville's full tenured professors recognize the unique contributions of these individuals to the University's mission.

Purple Tam Reception

A reception honoring those who received their purple tams will be held immediately following the ceremony in the Class of 1959 Gallery on the second floor of Ridgway University Center at the University of Evansville. This reception is open to the public and campus community to celebrate those receiving purple tams as full tenured professors.