"What we celebrate tonight is Radcliffe's--the institution's--very own Commencement," Sheerr said.

With language traditionally reserved for Harvard presidents granting diplomas, Sheerr ceded her responsibilities to Rudenstine.

"With the power delegated to me by the Radcliffe Board of Trustees, I declare that Radcliffe College has prepared thoughtfully and well...and is thereby prepared to be welcomed into the community of institutes of advanced study," Sheerr said.

Throughout the evening Sheerr took center stage, as speakers took the opportunity to honor her for the nine years she has spent leading the trustees, including more than two years stewarding the merger deal.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say, we salute you, we thank you and we will always remember you," said former Radcliffe president Linda S. Wilson.

Sheerr and her two daughters dabbed their eyes frequently as dignitaries showered Sheerr with tributes and gifts.

Rudenstine presented Sheerr with an honorary resolution, and former trustee Susan S. Wallach '68 announced that the trustees' former meeting room in Fay House would be renamed the Nancy-Beth Gordon Sheerr Room.

The high point of the evening was a musical performance by Wallach, a sometime Gilbert and Sullivan performer, and former trustee Marianne W. Tobias '62.