Commencement to be held in person, separated by academic division

Miami University’s spring commencement will be held in person over the course of three days, according to an email sent to the Miami community by President Greg Crawford on Monday, March 15.

The Colleges of Creative Arts and Liberal Arts and Applied Science – the latter of which is located on the regional campuses – will hold their commencement ceremonies on Friday, May 14 at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

The College of Engineering and Computing will hold its commencement at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 15, and the College of Arts and Science will split its commencement into two ceremonies at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The College of Education, Health and Society commencement will be held at 8 a.m. on Sunday, May 16, and the Farmer School of Business commencement will also be split into two ceremonies on that day at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

All ceremonies will take place at Yager Stadium and each graduate will get tickets for six guests. Groups will sit together in socially distanced “pods.” All guests will be required to wear masks.

“Commencement is a beloved tradition, and our opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of our students as they reach this milestone in their academic journey,” Crawford wrote. “We know the pandemic has shaped this last year in many ways, and we admire your creativity, flexibility and fortitude.”

Sydni Rivera, senior kinesiology major, said she understands why the university is separating the ceremonies by division, but she still wishes everyone in her class could graduate together.

“I think it will obviously be a lot shorter and more convenient if it’s separate colleges,” Rivera said, “but also, later down the road, I think it would be nice to look back and say like, ‘Oh yeah, our whole class was together at one point and got the opportunity to [graduate together].’”

Logan Fry, senior political science major, expressed excitement about the decision and said he looks forward to his family seeing him graduate, even in a smaller ceremony.

“I was raised by my grandparents, and so they were at my high school graduation, and I’ll never forget their faces and how loud they were when they watched me walk across the stage,” Fry said, “and so all I wanted was for them to see me walk across the stage at my college graduation since I’m a first generation [student].”

More information about Miami’s commencement will be added to this website as it becomes available.

Additional reporting by Asst. Campus & Community Editors Sean Scott and Lexi Whitehead.