UW-Madison, Platteville postpone spring commencement

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has postponed its Spring commencement ceremony at Camp Randall and the Kohl Center, UW announced Monday. Graduation celebrations for schools, colleges, departments, and campus organizations will not happen in May either.

“Of all the decisions we’ve had to make in this extraordinary time, this one has been the most heartbreaking for me,” Chancellor Rebecca Black wrote in

. “There is no better event at UW than commencement when we award degrees and celebrate the completion of school for our graduates.”

Black explained the University held off making the decision to delay the ceremony for as long as it could in hopes that the outlook for later this spring would improve. In light of the latest orders from the state not to hold large gatherings, however, it opted to hold off on all ceremonies.

After working with senior class officers, virtual commencement will be posted online on May 8, the original date for the event, Black said. No new date for an in-person ceremony has been set, but one is reportedly in the works.

And, even though students won’t be sliding their tassels to the left side of their mortar boards with the rest of their class, they will still be graduating, Black assured them, adding that they are arranging to send everyone their diplomas.

“I am immensely proud of every one of you. You are living through the kind of moment that shapes an entire generation, and you’re doing it with grace, resilience, and compassion,” she said.

Later in the day, The Platteville campus announced it too would postpone commencement ceremonies on all three of its campuses.