President: U of A Planning Smaller, In-Person Grad Ceremonies

TUCSON, AZ —University of Arizona president Dr. Robert C. Robbins announced Monday the school will hold in-person graduation ceremonies this May. However, the plans call for a series of commencement events with a limited numbers of participants, and no large, university-wide ceremony.

Robbins also said the school plans to offer most classes fully in person starting in the fall semester, which begins Aug. 23.

In a release, Robbins said the in-person commencement ceremonies are tentatively scheduled between May 11 and May 18 at Arizona Stadium. There will be a limit of about 1,000 students at each ceremony. Friends and family will not be allowed to attend, though the events will be streamed live online.

"This past year has obviously been very, very challenging, and I know that it's had a significant impact on the senior year of this graduating class," said Robbins, who became the school's 22nd president in 2017. "We're all looking forward to coming together, in a different but memorable way, to celebrate the academic achievements of the class of 2021."

Robbins continued: "As we move forward with these plans, the health of our faculty, staff and students is our top priority - always has been, always will be. We've been in regular contact with Pima County health officials throughout the planning process, and we will continue to rely on their expertise so that any events reflect local, state and national public health guidelines."

Robbins said the university will continue to provide updates on its Commencement website.

Meanwhile, the president said positive COVID trends within the university community should allow the school to return to in-person classes in the fall. The university is currently in Stage 2 of its reentry plan, with in-person classes limited to 50 students or fewer.

"We plan to return most courses at the main campus to fully in-person formats, with some courses offered as flex in-person as appropriate for public health needs," Robbins said. "Live online and iCourse options will remain available for students who need or wish to continue to learn remotely."

Robbins said the university's Test, Trace, Treat protocol, which includes regular, testing, contact tracing and isolation beds for infected students, has helped to minimize the spread of the virus on campus. According to the schools' COVID-19 website, between Feb. 28 and March 9, there were 15,100 COVID-19 tests administered on campus. A total of 33, or 0.2 percent, came back positive.

The university also is serving as a COVID-19 vaccine point of distribution (POD) for community members, and through Tuesday had administered 50,529 vaccines to eligible recipients.