Headpiece

Mark Zurolo ’01MFA

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President Peter Salovey’s ceremonial blue beret, back in storage after commencement along with his ceremonial blue robes, is descended from a long line of similarly ceremonial headgear. The look was modeled on the round academic hats of the University of Amsterdam, according to Angus Trumble, a former senior curator with the Center for British Art who is now director of Australia’s National Portrait Gallery. As Trumble has theorized in the pages of this magazine—noting, “and this is off the top of my head”—the choice might have been a religious one: a tip of the hat from the Puritans of early Yale to the reformed Protestants of the Low Countries (“Old Hat: The Evolution of Your Mortarboard,” July/August 2008). 

The hat has been updated, however. The handy adjustable closure now features Velcro.