Changes in Wayne State University Commencement exercises will be introduced at the winter ceremony to emphasize better the academic importance of graduation. Although the changes may not be readily apparent to the thousands of graduates, parents and friends who will attend Commencement Dec. 17 in Cobo Arena, they will surely be noted by university faculty who take on a new, more prominent role. The university's chief academic officer, Interim Provost and Senior Vice

President for Academic Affairs Marilyn Williamson, assumes the role of Grand

Marshall, a position similar to master of ceremonies. The president of the university's Academy of Scholars, a small group of some of the university's most distinguished faculty, takes on the role of Mace Bearer, the person who leads the academic procession. The Academic Mace is a heavy, 51-inch- long ceremonial scepter that bears the official Seal of the University and serves as a symbolic weapon to protect and proclaim the values and ideals of the university: harmony, truth, justice and learning. Professor of Medicine Ananda Prasad, this year's president of the academy, will bear the mace, a role he also filled during the inauguration of President Irvin D. Reid in September. "These are symbolic changes in what is the most important academic event held at a university," said President Irvin D. Reid. "I was pleased to elevate the role of faculty during my inauguration, extremely gratified by the way those changes were received and, through these additional changes, continue to re-emphasize the importance of the faculty to the life of the university."

Provost Williamson added, "As the chief academic officer of the university, I am happy to play a central role in the commencement ceremony, which is, after all, the most important academic occasion a university observes. I am grateful that President Reid has chosen to recognize academic affairs in this symbolic way."

More than 3,200 WSU students will receive degrees at winter commencement ceremonies that begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, in Cobo Arena. Receiving a Distinguished Alumni Award during the ceremony will be Joel S. Miller, chemistry professor and research scientist at the University of Utah. He developed a super-strong magnet made of molecules of polymers rather than metals.