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The University’s 189th Commencement will take place in person on Wednesday, May 26, instead of Sunday, May 30, the previously announced date, according to an email President Michael Roth ’78 sent to the Wesleyan community on Tuesday, March 23. Roth also announced that the University plans to invite remote graduating seniors back to campus for Commencement, as well as to allow two guests per graduate to attend the ceremony, COVID-19 pandemic conditions permitting.
Commencement is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Andrus Field and will last around an hour and a half to two hours. It will be webcast for those who cannot attend in person.
While Reunion Week typically coincides with Commencement, due to the health risks posed by large gatherings of alumni, staff, faculty, students, and guests, this year’s Reunion Week will be held virtually, from Monday, May 10 to Saturday, May 15.
“While nothing can replace an in-person reunion, a benefit of a virtual event is that it provides access to alumni who would not be able to make it back to campus and allows the entire Wesleyan community to participate,” Vice President for Advancement Frantz Williams Jr. and Director of Special Events Deana Hutson wrote.
The University’s Pandemic Planning Committee (PPC) is currently finalizing plans for remote graduating seniors to return to campus. According to Williams and Hutson, members of various departments are involved in planning Commencement. Members of the senior class assist by planning related events.
“Each department brings its own expertise to ensure that the Commencement ceremony celebrates and honors all graduates while following state and federal guidelines for large-scale events,” Williams and Hutson wrote in an email to The Argus.
Despite hoping to allow two guests per graduate, the University has yet to finalize the number of in-person guests each graduate may invite. However, the administration expects in-person guests to have either received a negative PCR COVID-19 test within the previous five days or to be fully vaccinated, as well as to follow Connecticut’s COVID-19 travel policies. At the time of publication, Connecticut has no travel requirements or mandates in place.
“Details are still evolving, but we are planning to keep as many traditional elements as we can safely accommodate,” Williams and Hutson wrote.
More details about Commencement can be found at: https://www.wesleyan.edu/commencement2021/.
Elias Mansell can be reached at emansell@wesleyan.edu