Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy announced that the 2021 Undergraduate Commencement will be held in-person at McGuirk Alumni Stadium in the form of four smaller, shorter ceremonies on May 14.

Only graduates will be allowed to attend in-person, no guests are allowed. Instead, the ceremony will be live streamed for others to watch.

“These will be in-person gatherings, although by necessity they will require much different arrangements as we protect the safety of our students and the community amid the pandemic,” Subbaswamy wrote.

In order to maintain compliance with public health guidelines, “graduates must follow public health protocols including social distancing and mask wearing.”

In the coming weeks, the Commencement Office will follow up with additional details about the ceremony, including specific COVID-19 testing requirements for graduates to gain access to their ceremony, according to the announcement. Updates will be posted on the Commencement website.

The email also announced that the Class of 2020 will be welcomed back to campus for a commencement ceremony during Homecoming in November 2021.

“While these ceremonies are certainly not traditional Commencement events, they do offer the opportunity for our students to gather and celebrate their achievements,” the chancellor wrote. “Our Student Advisory Group for Commencement emphasized the importance of having an in-person event, and we are pleased to make that happen under what we all know are challenging conditions.”

Cassie McGrath can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @cassiemcgrath_.