Written by: Elizabeth Vierkant
The in-person Spring 2020 commencement for this semester’s graduates at The University of Wisconsin–Stout has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UW–Stout has developed a plan to hold a virtual commencement. It will take place Saturday, May 9 at 10 a.m.
The ceremony will be located on the commencement site.
According to Britta Miller, the new student orientation coordinator and commencement coordinator at UW–Stout, this virtual commencement will look like a “condensed version” of the university’s typical commencement. There will be speeches from Chancellor Katherine P. Frank and two student speakers.
Music will be provided by Dr. Aaron Durst, the director of instrumental music and a professor at UW–Stout, and the Durst Family Band. The ceremony will end with performances by the UW–Stout choirs. The names of each graduating student will be read during the ceremony.
Miller said that students graduating with honors will have asterisks next to their names.
* for cum laude
** for magna cum laude
*** for summa cum laude
Miller said that this will appear much like it would in the commencement’s program. There will also be a way for families to download these names as a PDF. Academic honors are the only honors that are part of the commencement.
“I would suggest students put on their medallions, stoles […] if they have them and snap a picture. If they use #stoutgrad2020, those photos will show on a live newsfeed being curated on the commencement website,” Miller said.
The virtual commencement will be pre-recorded. It will include special messages and photos that are gathered on the commencement website.
“We wanted this to be a celebration. We didn’t want it to look exactly like our commencement, as it’s not that,” Miller said. “We wanted to give students the opportunity to hear from the chancellor, the student speakers and have their name read. We want to give them the chance to celebrate their accomplishments and have closure.”
Miller also hopes that students will participate in either the Aug. 8 rescheduled ceremony or the Dec. 19 ceremony. Attending either of these are options for students that are graduating in Spring 2020.
If you have any questions regarding the Spring 2020 virtual commencement, feel free to reach out to commencement@uwstout.edu.