🎙️ The Liminal: Rethinking Academic Regalia – Less Cost, Less Admin, More Control

Erin Reeves from Lesley University and Christina Dimenich from NYU Langone Health’s Vilcek Institute join Manny Vozos to talk about what happened when their institutions moved away from traditional regalia vendors and launched Tassel Regalia. They share why they made the switch, how integrating regalia ordering into their graduation workflow reduced manual work, and what they learned during their first year.

📝 Topics Discussed:

Why traditional regalia ordering can create unnecessary administrative work for commencement teams.

How bringing registration and regalia ordering into one platform gives schools greater visibility and control.

Reducing costs for students without sacrificing the quality or branding of academic regalia.

The importance of responsive customer support when transitioning to a new regalia provider.

How direct-to-student shipping eliminates storage, distribution, and pickup logistics.

Why schools need backup regalia for the inevitable last-minute graduate.

How streamlining regalia operations gives commencement teams more time to focus on the ceremony itself.

📌 Episode Highlights:

[00:02:16] Erin explains how Lesley University moved from two separate regalia vendors and a highly manual ordering process to an integrated approach.

[00:05:14] Kristina shares how NYU Langone replaced Excel sheets and manual student follow-ups with real-time tracking and automated communications.

[00:08:01] Erin explains the two biggest reasons Lesley made the switch: lower costs for students and stronger customer service.

[00:10:36] Kristina discusses the importance of maintaining NYU’s exact branding and why the new regalia ended up matching – and in some cases exceeding – what they had used previously.

[00:17:35] Direct-to-student shipping removes an entire logistical burden for NYU Langone’s small commencement team.

[00:20:16] Aaron explains why Lesley moved from renting faculty regalia to purchasing it, eliminating the annual process of collecting and returning gowns.

[00:26:07] Why an “emergency pack” of extra regalia is essential for students who show up on commencement morning without the right cap and gown.

[00:30:29] Both schools explain how reducing regalia administration freed up staff time for vendors, site visits, students, and the actual commencement experience.

[00:33:39] Kristina delivers perhaps the best measure of success: “This year we had no complaints from anyone.”

🔗 Presenting Sponsor:

This episode of The Liminal is brought to you by Tassel. Tassel brings registration, communications, regalia, ticketing, stage management, and more into one connected graduation platform – helping universities spend less time managing logistics and more time creating unforgettable moments for graduates.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heytassel.substack.com