After 32 years, Emma Jo Crain finally received her doctoral hood in special education administration from the University of Alabama on June 18.

Crain, now 75, lives at St. Peters Manor Care Center in Missouri, where a hospice team from Nurses and Company learned that one of her regrets was not being able to attend her commencement ceremony of 1979.

Vickie Boedecker, the hospice clinical supervisor, contacted UA in effort to create a symbolic hooding ceremony for Crain. She contacted David Francko, dean of the graduate school, who proposed creating a ceremony that would feel just like the one Crain missed out on.

“I thought, why don’t I come up there and have an authentic hooding ceremony like it would have been in 1979,” Francko said. “We made sure her family could attend, and I brought a robe and a proper stole appropriate to her degree. I even found a copy of the commencement program of 1979.”

Francko said the idea of creating a mock ceremony for a UA alum was something he did without hesitation.

“We’re a student-centered university, which means going the extra mile for one of our own alums,” Francko said. “One of the most gratifying parts of being a dean is that we’re able to change the lives of so many individuals. For Dr. Crain, this meant giving her a ceremony which she had been longing for 32 years.”

Not only was the hooding ceremony important to Crain, it was also a way to celebrate her career and accomplishments.

Her doctoral dissertation influenced Alabama state law, Crain said, according to an article in the St. Louis Today. The Alabama Legislature used her dissertation to create new laws allowing people with mental disabilities to receive vocational education, she said.

Francko saw this as the perfect opportunity to celebrate Crain’s accomplishments.

“She had an extremely successful career, so the ceremony was not only about celebrating her degree, but also about celebrating her life,” Francko said. “It was so gratifying for me to give this experience to her.”