DePauw postpones commencement, Alumni Reunion Weekend

Thursday, April 2, 2020

DePauw University’s May 17 commencement ceremony and its June 11-14 Alumni Reunion Weekend will be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures DePauw has taken to protect the health and safety of the community.

Planning to reschedule or provide alternatives to these events are under way. An email was sent to members of the Class of 2020, asking them to participate in an online survey to determine how they prefer to celebrate their graduation.

The options are:

A completely virtual commencement ceremony on or around May 17.
A virtual recognition (but not an entire ceremony) on or around May 17.
An in-person commencement event at another time.
Both a virtual recognition in May 2020 and an in-person commencement event at another time.

Graduating seniors also may offer suggestions and are asked to respond by April 15.

“Commencement is a historic and joyous part of our community experience, and all of us are disappointed we will not be commemorating this occasion as originally planned and in our usual manner,” Dave Berque, interim vice president for academic affairs, said. “Above all, we’re profoundly sad for our seniors, whose last few weeks as DePauw students have been upended. You deserve an opportunity to celebrate and we intend to mark your achievement.”

The 2020 Alumni Reunion Weekend will be combined with the 2021 event, scheduled for June 9-13.

DePauw students resumed their studies via remote learning on Monday. An emergency fund of nearly $200,000 has enabled students to address unanticipated costs associated with departure from campus and remote learning.

The university’s faculty members spent the last several weeks preparing to teach online, and support staff – those in the Writing Center, the Quantitative Reasoning Center, the Speaking and Listening Center and English for Academic Purposes Center – will be available online for students throughout the spring semester.

As health experts’ warnings about COVID-19 intensified, the university asked students to leave campus by March 16 and ultimately made the decision about commencement and the reunion weekend.

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