Oct. 30, 2018

Changes to May 2019 Commencement

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Dear VCU and VCU Health communities,

I write to you about a significant change to the university’s spring commencement schedule.

The Richmond Coliseum, which has hosted VCU’s spring commencement ceremonies for 46 years, will be unavailable to us in May 2019. We explored several alternative venues across the region, but all were unavailable because of cost, size, or access. Therefore, VCU will not hold a universitywide commencement ceremony in May 2019.

All spring 2019 graduates will be honored at their college, school, or department ceremonies, which will continue as normal the week of May 8-12. Historically, these events are very well attended by graduates. The university will provide assistance and coordination to ensure that all ceremonies meet a consistent standard of excellence. Meanwhile, we are working to secure space for future university-wide spring ceremonies. For more information, please visit the commencement website.

Please note that VCU’s fall 2018 commencement, which is December 8 at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, is unaffected and will proceed as scheduled.

Thank you for all you do for Virginia Commonwealth University.

Sincerely,

Michael Rao
President
VCU and VCU Health