Nebraska
Today in History – June 26: University of Nebraska holds first commencement
LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – On this day 154 years ago, the University of Nebraska held its first commencement ceremony — without any graduates.
The university was founded three years before the ceremony.
In place of diplomas, the university presented an honorary doctorate to the Rev. Bishop Clarkson of Omaha.
It wasn’t until the following year that the first students graduated from the university.
By the end of the 1870s, graduation had become a week of celebrations.
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