As thousands of proud family members and friends stood and applauded the more than 6,400 Syracuse University students who had their degrees conferred inside the JMA Wireless Dome for this year’s Commencement ceremony, their thoughts were on celebrating this momentous milestone.
Removed from the Commencement spotlight, Candace Hayden G’23 and the Major Events team were also celebrating, but for a different reason. Sure Hayden, the executive director, and her team of Jordan Clifford ’12, director, Emily Haff, director, and Michele Lapierre ’13, assistant director, were pleased to witness the newest members of the Orange alumni family cherishing the final moments of their college experience.
But after COVID-19 postponed Commencement for the Class of 2020 and forced the University to hold not one but three separate Commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2021, this was a return to normalcy for Hayden and the Major Events team. One Commencement ceremony honoring all Syracuse University graduates.
After a year of event planning, a year spent thinking of every worst-case scenario, Hayden and her staff pulled off a smooth and seamless Commencement. And while Hayden is quick to point out that her staff treats every event with the same level of dedication, preparation and energy, it was especially important for Commencement 2022 to run flawlessly.
Candace Hayden, executive director, major events
“We take a lot of pride in what we do, regardless of what kind of pressure is on that particular event. But Commencement comes with a lot of pressure and that is an added motivation to make sure it is flawless. We want to make sure our students are happy and that their parents are happy. Commencement is a time to celebrate the students, and if the Major Events team can obsess over the details to create that venue and that space where it has a celebratory feel, those are things that we strive for,” says Hayden, who has worked at the University since September 2018.
Planning for Commencement begins each summer and includes working with assorted leadership teams on campus—from the Chancellor’s office and the provost to facilities, parking and physical plant—to create each school or college’s convocation schedule. Hayden and her staff serve as partners in the process, ensuring each convocation has its own identity, look and feel.
The pressure of planning and executing the biggest event on the University calendar was magnified because the Major Events team, which at its biggest consisted of seven staff members, featured only two staffers until Clifford and Haff started less than two weeks before Commencement. Hayden never once used the staffing shortage as an excuse.
Michelle Lapierre, assistant director, major events.
“We all just stepped up. I received the additional team members just in time to help execute Commencement, and a lot of credit goes to Michele Lapierre, who was always by my side. Plus, we have an honorary team member, our manager, Chuck Merrihew, the person I report to. He has a production background and really took the lead on a lot of the video aspects in setting up the Commencement production with the JMA Dome team. Chuck is a godsend, and I wouldn’t be successful without those key staff members and a lot of grace,” Hayden says.
The impact the Major Events team has on campus life extends beyond Commencement. Whenever there is a large-scale on-campus event—from New Student Convocation to Forever Orange campaign events—chances are good that Hayden and her Major Events staff members pored over the relevant details to ensure the program goes off without a hitch.
Jordan Clifford ’12, director, major events
Clifford, who earned a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, spent the previous eight years working in events and marketing for the New York City-based Meredith Corporation before coming to Syracuse University. Haff spent the last eight years working in events and donor relations before accepting the job on campus.
“I’m very blessed to have the staff I have, and I’m grateful to have Jordan and Emily on our team. They were able to be thrown into the fire of Commencement a week prior, and they took the lead in a lot of areas that I couldn’t be present for. My hope with this team as we move forward is that we’re able to have a hand in executing advancement events while still managing our traditional Commencement ceremonies and New Student Convocation,” says Hayden.
For someone so focused on details, Hayden admits she “accidentally fell into event planning” years ago while working at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Emily Haff, director, major events
After graduating in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in communication and media studies degree from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Hayden served as an academic records coordinator at Drexel University in Philadelphia for two and a half years. Hayden worked in the registrar’s office on student diplomas and records, but it wasn’t until she accepted a position as academic events coordinator for Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, a role that required her to plan both Commencement and the awarding of degrees, that she began to really obsess over the details of events.
“It was important to make sure I thought through how someone experienced an event from beginning to end. We can obsess over what the ceremony looks like, but if a guest had a bad experience at check-in or had trouble parking, that’s the thing that’s going to stick with them. Over time, my obsession with details and event planning has grown and now I can’t get past it. Even when I go to an event I’m not in charge of, my eye hones in on the finer details,” Hayden says with a chuckle.
