University of Kentucky will have in-person graduation in May for 2020 and 2021 grads
The University of Kentucky will have in-person graduation ceremonies in May for the university’s 2020 and spring 2021 graduates in May, UK’s president announced Wednesday.
The commencement ceremonies will be held at Rupp Arena over the weekend of May 14-16, wrote UK President Eli Capilouto in an email to campus.
Students who graduated from UK in May, August and December of 2020 are invited to participate alongside the university’s May 2021 graduates, Capilouto wrote.
Current UK students who are eligible to graduate will be contacted directly via their student emails, while the university is “seeking ways to follow up with those prior graduates to let them know about these ceremonies and ways to sign up if they are interested,” UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said.
Masks and social distancing will be required, Capilouto wrote. Seating at the ceremonies will be limited and each graduate will be limited to bringing up to four guests.
UK’s last commencement ceremony at Rupp Arena occurred in December 2019 as the COVID-19 pandemic forced all of the university’s 2020 graduation ceremonies into mainly online formats.
“We continue to navigate difficult days as we do everything we can to keep our community healthy and safe,” Capilouto wrote in the email. “In large part, an in-person commencement is possible because of you – your efforts to keep yourselves, your friends and your community safe and healthy.”
Multiple ceremonies will occur over the three scheduled days. During the first week of April, the university will provide more information on the specifics of the ceremonies.
The ceremonies will also be livestreamed for any unable to attend, additionally students can also access a “virtual component” for the ceremony. Graduates can upload a photo and personal message that will be displayed “on a slide with their name, primary college and degree earned read out loud by a pre-recorded orator,” Capilouto wrote.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 10:36 AM.