February 26, 2021
Dear Members of the Classes of 2020 and 2021,
As we shared with you last month, we’ve been hard at work making plans to celebrate you and your accomplishments at Commencement ceremonies to be held in St. Louis this May. We appreciate your patience as we’ve explored what would be possible given the continuing uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health restrictions that remain in place. We are so pleased to write to you today to let you know that, as long as conditions in the region remain favorable, we will be able to proceed with holding in-person ceremonies for both of your classes.
Commencement will look and feel different this year, but we have come up with a plan to safely be together to celebrate our graduates.
- Due to limitations on gatherings and crowd sizes, we will host multiple, smaller ceremonies for each class.
- There will be a maximum of 500 graduates at each ceremony.
- Ceremonies for the Class of 2021 will be held Thursday, May 20 and Friday, May 21. Ceremonies for the Class of 2020 will be held Sunday, May 30. The Commencement office will send an email next week with additional details about the schedule.
- The location for all ceremonies will be Francis Olympic Field on the Danforth Campus.
- Graduates will be permitted to invite up to two guests each to campus to view the ceremonies. All guests will be required to register, and physical distancing will be observed in the viewing areas.
To facilitate a safe environment for our graduates, guests and staff, we will be following a number of COVID-19 safety protocols at all ceremonies.
- All seating will be arranged to accommodate physical distancing.
- All graduates, guests and staff will wear face masks at all times while on campus.
- Everyone in attendance will be required to register in advance. Registration will begin March 5.
- All attendees also will be required to complete the campus COVID-19 self-screening process the day of the ceremonies attended.
- Francis Field will have separate, clearly marked entrances and exits, and staff will be stationed to ensure that foot traffic in and out travels in only one direction.
- Individual boxes of water will be provided for graduates and attendees, and no additional food or beverage will be permitted.
- All students and guests who have not yet been vaccinated for COVID-19 are asked to quarantine for two weeks before coming to campus for Commencement.
In addition to these protocols, there will be a number of changes to the ceremony itself. Stage seating will be very limited, with most speakers and dignitaries who traditionally would speak from the stage appearing virtually instead. Faculty will only be invited to attend virtually. Graduates will not cross the stage, shake hands or receive diplomas during the ceremonies, and graduate students will not be hooded. We know these are important parts of the Commencement tradition, and we regret that we will not be able to incorporate them into this year’s ceremonies due to safety concerns.
While this will certainly be another unusual Commencement season, we know it also will be a memorable one. The Commencement office will be in touch soon to share additional details about the ceremony and event registration, so keep an eye on your email, and remember you can always check the Commencement website for updates.
We can’t wait to see you and, for the Class of 2020, welcome you back to campus for this very special occasion.
Sincerely,
Beverly Wendland
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Rob Wild
Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs