University Of North Texas Postpones May Commencement Over COVID-19 Concerns
DENTON (CBSDFW.COM) - Explaining that, "We are living through an unprecedented global event," the University of North Texas announced that May commencement ceremonies are being postponed.
In a statement UNT President Neal Smatresk said, "Our spring commencement is the last major event to be impacted, and the decision was not made quickly in order to thoroughly consider whether we could begin returning to normal operations in early May."
The graduation activities were scheduled for May 7-10.
Smatresk said the decision was made, in part, because there were no guarantees that the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19) would be over in 45 days and that friends and families of graduates needed to about making travel arrangements.
As it stands, the plan is to hold a commencement ceremony later in the year for any graduate wishing to participate -- but no exact date has been chosen.
Administrators did stress that any qualifying student would officially graduate regardless of whether we hold a ceremony or not.
Any student who still had questions about online instruction was advised to visit the frequently asked questions page on the UNT website.
Smatresk closed the statement saying "I understand that this is a difficult time for them, their families, and our faculty and staff, but we are pulling together and solving problems as they arise in a way that demonstrates our caring and creative UNT spirit.