2025-2026 Adrian College Academic Catalog

Ribbons of Excellence Program - ROE

 In 2007, the academic community at Adrian College adopted the idea of the ribbons to represent its standards of excellence. From the long-standing tradition of the ribbons attached to the shepherd’s crook at graduation, the Ribbons of Excellence have been developed to support the College’s mission statement. As the Latin inscription on the cane suggests, these Ribbons of Excellence cannot be achieved without hard work. The 5 ribbons are:

  1. Learning Throughout a Lifetime,

  2. Caring for Humanity and the World,

  3. Thinking Critically,

  4. Crossing Boundaries and

  5. Disciplines, & Developing Creativity.

The Ribbons of Excellence Conference was proposed by faculty to celebrate student research and accomplishments which go beyond the classroom experience and the first annual conference was held in April 2009. Each Spring semester, classes are cancelled for one day and the campus becomes a conference to showcase student work and bring it to the broader community. The program requires students to take part in research and other projects to think critically and tie these ribbons back into their lives, not just the Shepherd’s Crook!   We strive to achieve learning throughout a lifetime by inviting community members, faculty, staff, students and other visitors to attend the day’s events.  This event features work from our first-year courses all the way through senior capstone research projects and graduate theses and/or projects .

 

In January 2014, the Ribbons of Excellence Co-Curricular (ROE-CC) program was started to encourage students to participate in campus-wide events that support the missions of Adrian College and specifically the Ribbons of Excellence. In the past, some of the endorsed events included convocation, a film series, various theatre productions, and guest speakers.  Division of Student Life designates events as a Ribbons of Excellence endorsed to allow students to collect ROE-CC points. These points are accumulated towards a free cap and gown and can be used to qualify for special recognition at graduation. 

More information about the Ribbons of Excellence can be found at www.adrian.edu/roe.