Commencement plans announced for Erie, Ruskin campuses

Posted: March 31, 2020

As the University continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in ways that will continue to keep our students, faculty and staff as safe and healthy as possible, we are working together in making a series of important decisions. Please know that we are not taking these decisions lightly during this time as the situation continues to rapidly change each day. Each decision is made in the best interest of your well-being.

Today, we would like to inform you that the May Commencement ceremonies for both Erie and Ruskin campuses will be postponed at this time to the following alternative dates:

As with the other measures we have taken, we have come to this decision in consultation with many across our community and in order to comply with local and national large gathering restrictions. We hope that by making this decision now, we are able to provide our graduates with as much time as possible to make plans with their families and friends.

We understand this news is not what our graduates and their families had hoped for, and we recognize that this is not how any of us would have imagined the end to this academic year. That is why several areas across campus have been diligently working to provide an alternative to our traditional ceremonies that will still allow the Gannon community to celebrate together on campus and pay tribute to the success of our graduating students.

Please be assured that all students who complete the requirements for graduation by the appropriate deadlines in May will earn their degrees as scheduled. What is changing is when we will be celebrating our graduates’ accomplishments. Graduates will have this opportunity in October as well as the choice of joining the regularly scheduled commencement in December should that date or option be more suitable to your needs.

Below are further details regarding some of the changes to Gannon’s Commencement Ceremonies and related activities. Please know we are continuing to coordinate details and logistics of these events, and will provide updates as they become available.

We ask that all May 2020 graduates from our Erie Campus please complete the following brief survey by Friday, April 10 to share your plans to attend Commencement to best assist the University in planning the event. http://survey.gannon.edu/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=n6KI8n9M

To further recognize this milestone for our students, our Alumni office has also been developing a series of events and activities to excitedly welcome our graduates into the Gannon University Alumni Association, including:

If you have a question or comment regarding Commencement, please submit it at https://www.gannon.edu/Questions-or-Comments/. We are always available for a call as well if that is preferred.

Again, we know this is not what you or any of us had planned and we share the disappointment with you that we will not be able to celebrate the success of graduates in person in May. We hope that our Gannon community is understanding during this time as we make these difficult decisions and will rally to come together in October to have a joyful celebration of your success. As we move forward, we encourage our students, faculty and staff to stay connected with each other and continue take pride in being part of the Gannon Family. We will get through this together.