These Kentucky colleges and universities are planning for in-person spring graduation
Transylvania University will have in-person graduation ceremonies in May and will return to face-to-face classes in the fall, the university’s president announced Tuesday.
Transy’s 2020 graduating class will finally get their chance at an in-person commencement ceremony on May 22 after the pandemic forced last year’s ceremony into a virtual format, President Brien Lewis announced in a release on Tuesday. Then on May 29, the class of 2021 will get their own ceremony on the downtown Lexington campus.
With most employees and many students vaccinated against COVID-19, the university will also plan to return to primarily in-person classroom instruction come August, Lewis wrote in the announcement.
“We are hopeful that because of our small class sizes, we will be back in our usual classrooms for most courses,” Lewis wrote. “We also plan to take advantage of the technology we’ve utilized over the last 12 months and may offer online sections of some courses.”
Transy’s commencement announcement comes as several colleges and universities across Central Kentucky have announced similar plans.
The University of Kentucky announced that it will host commencement in May in Rupp Arena, while Eastern Kentucky University will have its graduation ceremony inside Roy Kidd Stadium, where the university’s football team plays.
Danville’s Centre College will also have an in-person, masked and outdoor commencement ceremony. Wilmore’s Asbury University plans on having multiple in-person commencement ceremonies and according to a press release is also planning for an in-person fall.
Bluegrass Community and Technical College will not be having a traditional commencement as “current restrictions do not allow us to plan for a traditional commencement in May,” the college’s website states.
BCTC does however plan on having “a drive-thru celebration and virtual graduation” in May where poet, teacher and recent Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame inductee Nikky Finney will be the graduation speaker.
According to its commencement website, Transylvania will finalize the details of the ceremony in early May and graduates will get a chance to RSVP before then. The ceremonies will also be livestreamed.
Weather permitting, the socially distant ceremonies will be outside on the lawn of Old Morrison with masks required — except for graduates while crossing the stage to accept their diploma. If the ceremony stays outside, graduates will get four guests, but if rain forces it indoors, then the number of guests will be reduced to two.
The university also expects to have a phased return of employees back to campus over the summer, President Lewis wrote.
“The last year has changed us as an institution and as a society,” Lewis wrote. “We have learned that we can pivot to accommodate the most daunting of challenges, while taking small steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones.”