The East Tennessee State University Alumni Association will host its Spring 2010 Ring Ceremony on Thursday, April 22 at 5:30 p.m. The event will take place at the ETSU Foundation Carillon and Alumni Plaza, beside Burgin Dossett Hall and is open to juniors and seniors who have earned 60 or more credit hours.

ETSU President Dr. Paul E. Stanton Jr. will present official ETSU class rings during the ceremony and a reception for recipients and their families will follow.

In keeping with a new tradition that started last year, ETSU ROTC Cadet George Berg will guard the class rings at an undisclosed location on campus the night before the ceremony.

During the program, ROTC Cadets from ETSU’s “Pershing Rifles” team will bring forward the trunk of class rings and transfer responsibility of them to Stanton.

“Incorporating our ROTC program into the ring ceremony shows what a distinguished honor the presentation of the class rings has become,” said Stanton. “These rings symbolize ETSU’s past, present and future. ETSU’s ROTC does an outstanding job of preserving the rings’ integrity.”

Designs of the official rings, supplied by Balfour Jewelers, are based upon ETSU’s legacy of values and traditions.

Each has “East Tennessee State University” spelled out around it and prominently features the ETSU seal.

The right side of the ring features historical and traditional images, including the front steps of Gilbreath Hall, ETSU’s oldest building; a banner inscribed with “In the Shadow of the Mountains” to represent the university’s debt to its regional setting, traditions and heritage; and the Ampitheater, built in 1936 by the university’s second president, Charles C. Sherrod. Embraced in the Ampitheater is the graduate’s degree.

The left side of the ring features contemporary images, including the Charles C. Sherrod Library, built in 1999, with the year of graduation above, and a torch of knowledge, the flames of which create the word “PRIDE.”

“The Ring Ceremony has become a cherished tradition on this campus, just like the ring itself,” said Dr. Richard A. Manahan, vice president of university advancement. “The official ring represents the common bond between those who have graduated and those who will graduate this year and in the future.”

For more information about the ceremony or ETSU’s official ring tradition, contact the ETSU Alumni Association at 423-439-4218

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