DECEMBER COMMENCEMENT UPDATE

Update regarding December commencement from President Houston Davis to students, faculty, and staff

I know many of you have been waiting to hear about our plans for December commencement, so I want to share some information with you as we close in on the weekend.

After speaking with our campus and local health advisors and reviewing guidance from the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), we are pleased to announce that we will hold in-person fall commencement ceremonies on Friday, Dec. 11 and Saturday, Dec. 12, in the Farris Center on campus.

We are currently working to finalize our plans for ADH approval. While we do not have all the details confirmed yet, we plan to have multiple ceremonies each day and provide each graduate with a set number of tickets to invite close family members. We know that we will have strict caps on the number of people that can attend in the Farris Center. Only ticket holders will be admitted, and face coverings and social distancing will be strictly enforced. These measures will help us ensure that we are following the crowd capacity limits set forth by ADH and that we are hosting in-person commencement in a way that prioritizes the health of attendees and our campus community.

Graduation is an incredible accomplishment, and commencement serves as an important milestone in our graduating students’ lives. We are pleased to offer modified yet traditional ceremonies in December and to celebrate this achievement with our graduates and their families. Please watch your email in the coming weeks for more specific details regarding the December commencement schedule.