Virtual Ceremony
Date and Location: May 16, 2021 from 1 – 1:30 pm, on Zoom.
Please share this link with your virtual commencement guests. If you forward the email commencement invitation you receive from Interim Dean Nancy Frank, the invitation includes a link to this page, where they can access the link to Zoom.
In-person presentation of diplomas,
May 16, 2021 by appointment, from 1:30 – 4:30
Location: SARUP Courtyard, 2313 E. Hartford Av, behind building adjacent to parking (see below for location in case of foul weather)
Each graduate may invite family and friends with no limit on the how many may attend. Please maintain appropriate social distance from groups of attendees from other households.
Masks are required outdoors in situations when 6 feet of social distancing cannot be maintained. This requirement remains in place, even for those who are fully vaccinated.
All attendees should wear a mask and maintain 6 feet of social distance during the in-person portion of commencement.
Graduation cap and gown are not required to participate. DO NOT let lack of a cap and gown keep you away!
When you arrive
If you arrive early, wait away from the courtyard and adjacent sidewalk until the prior group of attendees begins to disperse. As they disperse and space opens up, take your places, described below.
Graduates should line up along the wall adjacent to the Commons, maintaining social distance. We hope to have markings on the pavement.
Guests may arrange themselves in groups for each of the graduates and stand on the grassy courtyard or the sidewalk adjacent to the courtyard, but not in the area reserved for graduates and the presentation of diplomas on the south side of the courtyard. Limited seating is available for guests who would have difficulty standing for a half-hour.
What to expect
Promptly at the starting time for your appointment, Interim Dean Nancy Frank will call the name of each graduate individually. Each graduate will walk from their place in line “across the stage” and accept their “diploma” (see below).
After each of the students has accepted their diploma, Dean Frank will give an additional instruction to the graduates before inviting graduates to join their guests for congratulations and photos.
Please be respectful of others space. You know who you have been or will be spending time with in close proximity during the semester and during the rest of your graduation celebration. Use good judgment in coming into close contact with people you do not know.
At the end of your assigned time slot
Toward the end of your assigned in-person commencement time slot, we will let you know that you need to begin to leave the area to allow the next group to assemble. Please move away from that area of the courtyard and adjacent sidewalks.
You may enter SARUP with your guests. Wear masks and maintain social distance as you would if you were attending an in-person class. Avoid congregating in groups with people who are not in your family or household.
Foul Weather Location
In case of rain or other inclement weather, the in-person commencement will be held in the SARUP Commons. Because the maximum COVID capacity of the Commons is 60 people, the number of guests will be limited to 4 guests per graduate, though additional guests may observe through the Commons windows. In the event of truly bad weather, and depending on turn-out, we may be able to accommodate more than 10 guests with impromptu measures to maintain social distance and reduced occupancy in the Commons by using the main hallway as a waiting area for “overflow” guests.
About diplomas
Graduates at UWM’s commencement are often surprised that the diploma cover they receive on marching across the stage is empty. At our SARUP commencement, we will distribute a diploma facsimile to each student. This year, because UWM’s commencement is entirely virtual, the Registrar’s Office has already begun to mail diploma covers.
If you need a cover after receiving your actual diploma later this summer, you may pick one up at the Registrar’s Office, or you can contact the Registrar’s Office to have one sent to you.
https://uwm.edu/onestop/your-student-record/graduation/
