The University of Pennsylvania will hold a virtual ceremony in place of its on-campus commencement in May amid the spread of COVID-19, a strain of coronavirus, the university announced today.
Penn will consider hosting an on-campus ceremony in the fall for graduates of the Class of 2020, according to the announcement.
“Given the uncertainty of when it might again be safe to bring such large groups together, and the rapidly changing scale of the pandemic, we know that this change is the only responsible action we can take,” wrote President Amy Gutmann in the announcement.
Temple University’s commencement is “still under discussion,” wrote Ray Betzner, a spokesperson for the university, in an email to The Temple News.
“As is true of so many things, our chief concerns right now are getting students home safely, transitioning to an online operation and making sure everyone is safe,” Betzner wrote.
There are eight cases of COVID-19 in Philadelphia and 76 in Pennsylvania, The Temple News reported.
Temple is still UNSURE about commencement in MAY??!! It needs to be cancelled now as a lot of Out of state and out country folks are making plans to attend. There will be MORE than 50 PEOPLE!!