Mercer pushes commencement to August due to coronavirus concerns. Here are the details
Mercer will hold commencement ceremonies for the class of 2020 in early August, the university announced Tuesday.
Mercer President Bill Underwood told students in news release that it did not appear likely that restrictions on large groups would be lifted before early May when commencement typically takes place.
“I had very much hoped that we would be able to hold our traditional commencement celebrations as scheduled,” Underwood said in the release. “Despite this disappointing news, I want to congratulate you now on your impending graduation. It will be an important milestone in your lives. I very much look forward to congratulating you in a more formal and personal way in August.”
The School of Law commencement will be held on Aug. 7 at 1 p.m. in Hawkins Arena on the Macon campus.
Commencement for all other programs based in Macon other than law and medicine will be held on Aug. 8 in Hawkins Arena. The specific time has not been set.
The baccalaureate service will be held on Aug. 7 at 6 p.m. in Willingham Auditorium on the Macon campus.
For Atlanta based students, commencement will be held on Aug. 9 at 3 p.m. in the Infinite Energy Center in Gwinnett County.
The School of Medicine will go forward with a May 2 virtual commencement ceremony as many of the graduates already have residency programs around the country. There will be no reschedule date for this ceremony according to the release. This comes weeks after Underwood announced that classes would take place online for the rest of the Spring semester.
“Thank you once again for your patience, your generosity of spirit, and your flexibility in the face of sometimes frustrating and difficult circumstances,” Underwood said. “I have never been more proud of our community. What I have witnessed over the past weeks has confirmed that Mercerians were indeed built for times like these.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 4:32 PM.