Citing COVID-19, University of Kentucky to have online commencement for December grads
This year’s University of Kentucky graduates will not get an in-person commencement ceremony any time soon thanks to worries over the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus at an event, the university said in an email to students Tuesday afternoon.
In lieu of the traditional December ceremonies at Rupp Arena for fall semester graduates, UK will have an online ceremony for 2020 grads on Friday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. Students who graduated in May and August are also invited and should email commencement@uky.edu to register.
The online ceremony is “not a replacement for the traditional UK Commencement,” a release stated. UK still plans on having an in-person ceremony that honors May, August and December 2020 graduates “at an appropriate time, when it can be done in a safe and healthy way.”
“Commencement is one of the best days of the year,” the university’s release stated. “The university deeply regrets that we cannot celebrate our graduates in the same ways we have in the past. However, amid a global pandemic and COVID-19 cases increasing in Kentucky and other states, this was considered the best decision for our community.”
The virtual ceremony will include many of the same elements as an in-person commencement, UK said. Graduates will be recognized, President Eli Capilouto will speak and a student speaker will address the class. Applications to be the student speaker will close on Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.
When the pandemic sent students home in March, spring graduates were honored by the university in May with a variety of non-traditional ceremonies, including the reading of every graduate’s name over the student radio station.