University announces commencement plans 

  Wednesday, October 7, 2020 9:30 AM
  News, Academics, Milestones

Pittsburg, KS

Pittsburg State University announced details this week for Fall Commencement, which is planned for Friday, Nov. 20, and Spring Commencement, which had been postponed from May until Nov. 21. 

They will, not surprisingly, look different than past ceremonies. The changes were made with safety in mind and were based on feedback from a survey sent to students and faculty, which helped organizers identify top priorities.  

“Though each will be different and smaller than a typical commencement ceremony, we're very pleased that we're able to accommodate all of the activities most requested by our Spring 2020 graduates and our soon-to-be Fall 2020 graduates,” said Provost Howard Smith. “We also appreciate the patience of those graduates and their families as we worked out the details so we could ensure safety, but also a celebratory atmosphere, for such an important milestone in their lives.” 

Those requests included being able to walk across a stage and hear their name being read; seeing university leadership and receiving their diploma cover in person; and experiencing the event with family and friends. 

The plan was signed off on by the Crawford County Health Department, which reviewed the university’s mitigation strategies. Those strategies include keeping graduates and their guests together rather than mixing into a crowd, each ceremony being in near-constant movement with no seating, strict social distancing, and masks being required at all times with the exception of students during the time they stand for professional photos and cross the stage to receive their diploma cover. 

Each graduate will be issued four tickets for guests, which will enable reduced occupancy requirements for the Plaster and the Weede. Each ceremony will be livestreamed to accommodate additional family and friends from home. 

The schedule for Nov. 20: 

• 2 p.m. - College of Technology undergraduate students 
• 4 p.m. - Kelce College of Business undergraduate students 
• 5:30 p.m. - College of Education undergraduate students 
• 7 p.m. - College of Arts & Sciences undergraduate students  

The schedule for Nov. 21: 

• 9:00 a.m. - Fall 2020 Graduate Students 
• 10:30 a.m. - Spring 2020 College of Arts & Sciences and Kelce College of Business undergraduate and graduate students 
• Noon – Spring 2020 College of Education and College of Technology undergraduate and graduate students 

Ceremonies will start in the Robert W. Plaster Center and then proceed to the Garfield Weede Building. Parking for candidates and their families will be in the Bicknell Center for the Arts parking lot adjacent to the Weede. 

The university will release additional details and information and instructions for getting guest tickets in the coming weeks. Information may be found at this link.