PROVIDENCE – Providence College and Johnson & Wales University announced new dates to hold their respective commencement ceremonies at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center that were postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
JWU will hold its ceremony on Aug. 22, and plans to have its traditional two ceremonies. One ceremony for undergraduates will be held in the morning, and an afternoon ceremony for both undergraduates and all graduate-studies programs will take place, JWU said.
JWU Providence Campus President Marie Bernardo-Sousa said in a statement that the school is hopeful the Aug. 22 date is “far enough in the future” that restrictions on large gatherings are “no longer being imposed.”
PC’s commencement will take place on Oct. 31, with the commencement Mass being held the day before at the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul in Providence. PC also said it plans to confer degrees in a virtual ceremony to be held May 17.
The college said school representatives spoke with multiple senior student leaders and conducted an online survey on how to address commencement plans. More than 90% of the survey respondents “articulated a strong preference” to have an in-person traditional commencement, PC said.
PC President Rev. Brian J. Shanley said in a statement that he too is hopeful that by the Oct. 31 date the pandemic “will be largely behind us.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
