Fall 2020 Commencement Rescheduled for Sunday, Dec. 20
Chancellor Kelly Damphousse issued the following email to the A-State community Thursday afternoon, December 17, announcing that the Fall 2020 Commencement ceremony has been postponed a day to Sunday, December 20, at 11 a.m. due to lingering rain in the forecast.
Read the updated, original news story here.
Greetings to all Red Wolves, and especially our Fall 2020 graduates:
Because of the weather forecast for Saturday (43 degrees and raining), we have decided to move our Fall 2020 Commencement back a day to Sunday at 11 a.m. The forecast for Sunday is warmer and sunny.
I know this one-day delay will be a hardship for many graduates and their families. But our alternatives were to (1) cancel commencement, (2) hold commencement in the rain, or (3) to hold the ceremony inside First National Bank Arena. Unfortunately, Arkansas Department of Health regulations would not allow us to have any guests present for a ceremony in FNBA.
While many universities have cancelled commencement or are conducting virtual ceremonies, I know how important an in-person ceremony is for our graduates AND how important it is for their friends and families to attend. We did opt for the morning start so that those who planned to spend Saturday night in Jonesboro would not be delayed leaving on Sunday.
Please remember that Fall 2020 graduates are welcome to participate in the May 2021 commencement if that works better for them.
As I said when we had to move the Spring Commencement to August, you are a graduate of Arkansas State University with or without the ceremony, and we are so very proud of your becoming one of our #AStateMade alumni.
Best,
Kelly
