SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Graduating students at the University of Rhode Island who complete their degree requirements in the fall will not have to wait until the spring to celebrate their accomplishments.
The university announced Tuesday that it is introducing a new fall commencement ceremony for undergraduate and graduate students, adding a new graduation program in addition to the annual May spring commencement. The new ceremony, which URI says was the result of recent conversations with students who expressed interest in having an early graduation celebration, will take place Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. at the Ryan Center on campus.
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“We are excited to introduce this new tradition at the University of Rhode Island,” URI President Marc B. Parlange said in a statement. “We spoke with many current and former students, and there was great excitement at the prospect of a fall ceremony.”
URI spokesperson Dave Lavallee told Providence Business News on Wednesday that this new fall ceremony offers graduating students and the university the opportunity to celebrate their academic achievements before they leave campus.
“For instance, a student might get a job in Chicago or Mexico and it might not be convenient to come back for a May commencement,” Lavallee said. “We’re just marking the [graduation] occasion.”
Lavallee also said having a fall graduating ceremony does not mean an early advantage for graduating students to enter the job market. URI noted in its release that many fall graduates will either already be employed or in graduate school by the time the spring commencement event arrives.
URI says more than 800 students are expected to finish their fall degree requirements this fall. What the new ceremony will cost the university is currently unclear. Lavallee says URI has just started planning the event and a financial picture on the ceremony will “become clearer” as the event draws near.
While specifics were not immediately available, Lavallee says the fall ceremony will be much less expensive to put on than the May commencement proceedings, which has separate ceremonies for undergraduates and graduates.
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.
