More than 5,000 graduates anticipated crossing the stage at Commencement ceremonies this spring. However, UNC Charlotte’s traditional in-person Halton Arena celebrations will take place at a later date due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead of the four ceremonies planned for Friday and Saturday, May 8-9, 2020, graduates from the University’s academic colleges and the Graduate School will receive a congratulatory email message from Chancellor Philip L. Dubois with links to a Commencement website with a special video message from him and the student speakers scheduled for each ceremony. Graduates also will have a copy of the Commencement program mailed to their home addresses.
“All of Niner Nation is extraordinarily proud of the academic accomplishments of the Class of 2020,” said Joan Lorden, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. “We sincerely hope that sentiment is felt by all the graduates with this small ceremonial gesture to acknowledge the day they’d worked toward for so long.”
Of particular note are the 16 new doctor of business administration (DBA) candidates who were to be awarded doctoral hoods prior to commencement ceremonies. In addition to being UNC Charlotte’s first DBA recipients, they are the first in the UNC System to earn this distinction. They join 95 other Ph.D.-level graduates this year, in addition to 1,092 master’s degree and 3,815 bachelor’s degree recipients.
Chancellor Dubois, who is retiring June 30 after 15 years in office, stated, “The coronavirus pandemic has thwarted the best laid plans here at UNC Charlotte and at the thousands of colleges and universities across the country that were looking forward to watching their students cross the stage. I know you and your families are disappointed; we are too. But as I have said multiple times over the course of the last challenging year, Niner Nation will get through this together.”
Graduates were encouraged to record video messages to express what completing their degrees means to them and share them with University Communications.
“To the Class of 2020, From the Class of 2020,” a compilation of these messages, along with those from UNC Charlotte faculty and staff, will be shared on the University’s social media channels.