Commencement
Virtual Commencement Ceremonies
APSU to host four virtual commencement ceremonies Dec. 11
Austin Peay State University will host four virtual commencement ceremonies on Friday, Dec. 11, to honor the University’s fall graduates in a safe, online format. The ceremonies, which will be streamed at https://ovcdigitalnetwork.com/watch/?Live=6964&type=Livehttp://apsu.edu/commencement/commencementinformation/webcast.php, are listed below:
- 9 a.m. - College of Arts and Letters and College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
- 11 a.m. - College of Behavioral and Health Sciences’ Health and Human Performance, Psychological Sciences and Counseling, and Nursing majors and graduates who are General Studies majors.
- 1 p.m. - College of Business and College of Behavioral and Health Sciences’ Criminal Justice, Leadership and Organizational Administration, Political Science, Public Management, Sociology and Social Work majors.
- 3 p.m. - Erikkson College of Education and APSU’s liberal arts associate degree graduates.
APSU to host four virtual commencement ceremonies Dec. 11
Message from President Whiteside
Austin Peay State University will host four virtual commencement ceremonies on Friday, Dec. 11, to honor the University’s fall graduates in a safe, online format. The ceremonies, which will be streamed at http://apsu.edu/commencement/commencementinformation/webcast.php, are listed below:
- 9 a.m., College of Arts and Letters and College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
- 11 a.m., College of Behavioral and Health Sciences’ Health and Human Performance, Psychological Sciences and Counseling, and Nursing majors and graduates who are General Studies majors.
- 1 p.m., College of Business and College of Behavioral and Health Sciences’ Criminal Justice, Leadership and Organizational Administration, Political Science, Public Management, Sociology and Social Work majors.
- 3 p.m., Erikkson College of Education and APSU’s liberal arts associate degree graduates.
Each streaming ceremony will include remarks from APSU Interim President Dannelle Whiteside and a commencement address by Dr. Minoa Uffelman, recipient of Austin Peay’s 2020 Distinguished Professor Award. All students who applied to graduate in December, and have not requested their records remain confidential, will have their names read aloud during their respective ceremonies.
In addition to the streaming video, the ceremonies will be aired live on CDE Lightband channel 9, Spectrum Cable channel 192, or AT&T Uverse channel 99 and can be heard on WAPX-FM radio, 91.9Mhz. Graduates and guests who wish to view the ceremonies at a later date or time can access them on the APSU-TV YouTube page and the University’s Facebook page.
After consulting with state health experts earlier this week, Austin Peay officials canceled the University’s in-person ceremonies because of an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases in the region and across the nation.
Had Austin Peay moved forward with the in-person ceremonies, more than 3,000 people would have passed through the Dunn Center within a 24-hour period, requiring about 60 APSU staff members to work each ceremony. State health officials warned against this type of large, prolonged gathering, particularly with only 8% of ICU beds available in the entire state.
“I know many of you were disappointed to learn we will not have in-person commencement ceremonies on Dec. 11-12,” APSU Interim President Dannelle Whiteside said in a Thursday email to students. “I also was saddened by this news because I wanted to help honor your significant achievements. We made this difficult decision after talking with local and state health experts, who painted a scary picture of how the pandemic is affecting our state and country. We also have a number of staff members in quarantine, which means we were unable to staff the event in a way that ensured we could carry out a safe ceremony.”
In January, the University’s commencement committee will explore whether Austin Peay can host an in-person ceremony for Fall 2020 graduates some time during the Spring 2021 semester. Several factors, such as the continuing of the pandemic into the spring, will influence that decision.
“We want to celebrate your hard work, and we’ll continue looking for ways to honor your achievements,” Whiteside said.
Fall Commencement Update – In-person ceremonies canceled
(posted December 2, 2020)
Yesterday, after consulting with state health experts, we made the difficult decision that we cannot safely host in-person commencement ceremonies in the Dunn Center on Dec. 11-12.
“This was a difficult decision because graduating is a significant achievement, and we look forward every semester to celebrating our students’ hard work,” APSU Interim President Dannelle Whiteside said. “But the safety of our campus and local communities must come first. After discussing the issue with the University’s senior leadership, members of the APSU COVID-19 Command Team and state health experts, we’ve concluded that we cannot safely host our Fall Commencement on Dec. 11-12.”
We wanted to provide you this information as soon as possible so graduating students and guests who planned to attend the ceremonies can adjust any travel plans.
Our commencement committee is developing alternate plans to celebrate our Fall graduates in a safe manner. Once finalized, updated information on these celebrations will be emailed to the campus community and posted to the commencement website, www.apsu.edu/commencement.
This week, we successfully transitioned from on-ground to fully online instruction, as originally planned, for the remainder of the fall semester. While cases remained manageable on campus over the last few months, health experts are seeing a disturbing rise in cases across the region.
According to the Tennessee Department of Health, “the total COVID-19 case count for Tennessee is 380,186 as of December 1, 2020 including 4,638 deaths, 2,369 current hospitalizations and 336,131 recovered.” The department also reports only 8% of Intensive Care Unit hospital beds remain available across the state.
“I’m very saddened that we had to make this difficult decision,” Whiteside said. “Celebrating our students’ success is an important tradition at this institution, and we will definitely find a way to honor their achievements. Please know that this decision was made to keep our students, their families and our community safe and healthy.”
Diplomas and Cap & Gowns
Diplomas for December graduates will be ready on February 1, 2021, and distribution of those diplomas will be announced at a later date. Cap and gowns for December graduates may be ordered here to be delivered. Orders for on-campus pick-up have ended.
