USC plans to have in-person graduation ceremonies this spring
The University of South Carolina is planning to hold in-person graduation ceremonies this spring, after last year’s commencement was limited to a virtual event because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Multiple in-person commencement ceremonies are scheduled on May 7 and 8, according to USC officials.
“Graduates, I’m very happy to celebrate with you all. See you at Willy B!” USC President Bob Caslen said on Twitter.
As part of this year’s celebration, USC said all 2020 graduates are invited to participate in a special ceremony on May 15 to commemorate their graduation.
Planning is underway for the events, which will be held primarily at Williams-Brice Stadium, home of the Gamecocks football team, as well as the Koger Center and the Horseshoe on the university’s campus in Columbia. This will be the first time Williams-Brice Stadium is used for graduation, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said in a news release.
USC officials said they will “continue to employ appropriate COVID-19 mitigation strategies,” and will work with with public agencies and monitor the spread of the virus and variant strains. Safety measures will include social distancing and mask requirements, according to Stensland.
COVID-19 conditions affect USC’s ability to host in-person events, officials said.
Tickets will be limited to five per approved participants, and no more will be made available. Information on tickets for the events at the Koger Center and the Horseshoe was not available.
The graduation ceremonies will be broken up by specific schools within the university, with some grouped together.
The current schedule begins on May 7, when School of Law grads will be honored in a ceremony at the Horseshoe at 9 a.m.
The next event is set to be held at Williams-Brice Stadium at 6 p.m., when graduates of the Darla Moore School of Business, Arnold School of Public Health, and School of Music will be recognized.
On May 8, there will be three ceremonies. The first is planned to be held at the football stadium at 9:30 a.m., where degrees will be given to graduates of the South Carolina Honors College (BARSC students only), College of Arts and Sciences, and College of Information and Communications.
The next ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Koger Center for doctoral graduates.
The events will conclude back at Williams-Brice at 6 p.m. for members of the College of Education, College of Pharmacy, College of Engineering and Computing, College of Social Work, College of Nursing, Palmetto College in addition to the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management.
The event for both May and December 2020 graduates also is set to be held at Williams-Brice.
All of the events currently planned for Williams-Brice Stadium are scheduled to be held rain or shine.
There will be one virtual commencement ceremony this spring, as the School of Medicine grads will be honored online at noon on May 6.
“We are excited to safely celebrate your accomplishments along with your families and loved ones,” Caslen said in the release. “We made this decision in consultation with our public health experts, and each ceremony will be conducted with the proper risk mitigation measures to ensure the safety of our graduates and guests.”
More than 6,300 students will be graduating from the Columbia campus this May and more than 8,000 from the entire USC system, according to the release.
In the past, the majority of commencement ceremonies were held indoors at Colonial Life Arena.
Any 2020 grads who want to attend the in-person ceremonies must register to attend.
After initially postponing plans for an in-person commencement ceremony last year, the event was shifted completely online in July.
At that time, Caslen said holding a large gathering, like the planned commencement ceremony, would not be safe during the coronavirus pandemic.
Since then there has been the introduction of multiple coronavirus vaccines and the numbers of new COVID-19 cases across South Carolina have declined in the past month.
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