Marshall University President Jerome A. Gilbert today announced the university’s spring 2021 commencement ceremony will be an in-person event on Saturday, May 1, at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium with pandemic health and safety precautions in place.
The ceremony will begin at 9 a.m., rain or shine, although in the case of continuing thunderstorms, Sunday, May 2, will serve as the alternate date. To maintain appropriate social distancing, each participating graduate will be provided with four (4) tickets for guests. Masks will be required for everyone in attendance. Graduating students also will be required to wear flat shoes to protect the football field turf.
Students planning to participate in the ceremony are asked to review graduation information with their individual academic colleges and to check with the registrar’s office for more information. Additional information, including ticket distribution, cap and gown purchases, etc., will be added to the site in the coming days.
Also today, Gilbert announced the university would return to a near-normal fall term with most classes delivered in a face-to-face format. He said health and safety and academic committees have been working to develop scenarios and recommendations for the fall term, aimed at ensuring safety of students and employees.
Gilbert said the university wants to give students and their families as much advance notice as possible as they make decisions about the fall semester.
“As vaccinations become more available and the positivity rate drops, we will move toward resuming pre-pandemic activities and behaviors,” Gilbert said. “I am confident we are seeing the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel and I’m ready, like all of us, to return to a level of normalcy in the fall.”
Marshall remains committed to offering education in the safest environment possible. Additional information on the health and safety protocols at the university is available at www.marshall.edu/coronavirus.