ATHENS – This spring, Ohio University will return to in-person commencement, but rather than one large event it will be held over several days and online for those who can’t attend.

The university made the announcement after a thorough and significant review of options by Ohio University’s events team and discussions with public health leadership on and off campus, President M. Duane Nellis made the announcement and said that with recent changes in state guidelines for events and after extensive and innovative planning by the university events team, OHIO plans to host multiple in-person spring commencement events at Peden Stadium over the course of several days, streamed live for graduates who prefer to participate virtually.

“We are so pleased to have the opportunity to celebrate our graduating students’ incredible accomplishments with in-person commencement ceremonies this spring,” Nellis said. “Our team has planned carefully with the advice of public health officials, so that we can host safe, meaningful events for our graduates and their families.”

The spring commencement ceremonies will take place over the course of five days, April 29 and May 3.

The university will work to determine specific dates and times based on RSVPs received from its graduates. The number of students who plan to participate in-person will inform the number and size of our events.

At the recommendation of the university’s public health partners, they expect to limit guests to two people per graduate.

The university will share more details in the coming days with Class of 2021 graduates.

Each regional campus will hold graduation recognition activities on April 29 or 30. Regional OU graduates can attend events on their home campus and in Athens.
More details will be shared with graduating students in the coming days.

Additionally, the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine will be celebrating commencement in-person on Saturday, May 8. Class of 2021 medical school graduates will be receiving more information soon from the Heritage College.

The university has also initiated planning for the postponed Spring 2020 commencement activities and will be sharing more information with Spring 2020 graduates before the end of spring semester.

“I am looking forward to joining Bobcats everywhere to celebrate our graduates as they embark upon their next adventure,” Nellis said.

For more information, visit www.ohio.edu/commencement or email commencement@ohio.edu.