Throwback Thursday: ‘No Hat Upon His Head’

Founding President and First President of FIU Charles Perry delivers a speech at commencement in 1973.

FIU’s Shakespeare influence began long before the exhibit First Folio! The Book that Gave us Shakespeare arrived on campus this month.

In 1973, with the university’s first commencement ceremony on the horizon, one thing was noticeably absent from Founding President Charles Perry’s wardrobe — commencement attire.

The young president was able to assemble what he needed in time for the big day, but not without a little help from Shakespeare. When Perry took to the podium in the Primera Casa building, he donned a hat from a recent Shakespeare production, believed to be The Taming of the Shrew.