Friday, March 13, 2020
From: Merage School Commencement Coordinator Diane Sagey
We are saddened to share that UCI has announced that Commencement Ceremonies will not take place in the same way as previous years. Families and guests should not make arrangements to come to the campus for the Commencement celebrations.
At the Merage School, we are in the process of creating an alternate commencement experience for our deserving graduates and will send a separate message with details and information in the coming months.
In the meantime, we do know the following whether you had been planning to attend Commencement or not:
- A formal diploma cover is traditionally handed to students at Commencement. Regardless of what our alternate commencement experience may be, we will make these available to all graduates. We have a very small number on hand right now. If you are planning to move out of the country prior to the end of Spring Quarter and would like a diploma cover, please contact your program office to arrange to pick one up.
- We will still be selecting a student speaker to represent the Class of 2020 (most likely their speech will be video recorded). Please get your speeches and audition videos in by the April 1 deadline.
- We will still be posting the Shout Out videos from all students but the deadline has changed to May 15 to provide your 10-second video. The change here is that you may submit up to two videos: one to thank those who supported you, and one with a message to your classmates.
- Participation and Ticket Registration: This form will be closed at this time. There is no need to collect information for tickets and participation for an event in the Bren Center.
- Cap and Gown Rentals for Masters Programs: We will refund money to anyone who wants to cancel renting regalia (watch for an email with directions to do so). However, we recognize that some of you may still want to rent the regalia in order to take photos. If you would like to do so, please be sure to order your regalia by the March 20 deadline. We are still investigating if UCI will be ordering gowns or not, but this will ensure you can rent one for photos if they do. Again, if we can’t rent regalia, all money will be refunded. (Undergraduates are still TBD on whether gowns will be purchased from UCI).
Our website will be updated in the next week, and we will keep you informed as plans develop. If you have any suggestions on how we might engage all of your classmates in a “virtual” commencement ceremony, before next Thursday, please email dsagey@uci.edu or your program office.
We know how unfortunate this news is, as all of the faculty and staff of the Paul Merage School of Business looks forward to the Commencement ceremony almost as much as you do. It is truly a time of celebration, of launching our graduates into brighter futures. It is our aim to provide a Commencement experience that you will always remember, and we are excited by the challenge of doing so.
We will be sending more information soon.