AMHERST, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The 2020 UMass Amherst commencement, which was set for May 8, has been postponed due to the spread of COVID-19, Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy announced Tuesday.
The school has not set a new date for the commencement, but invited students to share ideas for how to celebrate graduation by sending input to tocommencement@umass.edu.
"This decision was made with a heavy heart, knowing what a seminal moment this day is in the lives of our students, their families, and the entire UMass community," Subbaswamy wrote in a release. "Unfortunately, at this point, with so much uncertainty about when life will return to normal, I cannot give you a definitive answer for how and when we will honor our graduates, but I can assure you that we will."
Subbaswamy also thanked the UMass community for pulling together in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
"Our faculty are taking extraordinary measures to prepare for remote learning; our staff are working hard to ensure continuity of campus operations; and our students are proving their resilience by accepting this difficult transition with grace and patience," Subbaswamy wrote. "These are trying times, to say the least, but I know the resilience and revolutionary spirit that define this great university—its students, faculty, staff and alumni—will see us through, and we will be stronger for it."
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(Photo: Facebook.com/UMass Amherst)