UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will hold a makeup commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. on May 18 in the O’Connell Center, said UF spokesperson Steve Orlando in an email.
The dean of the college, David Richardson, sent out an email to the graduates on Monday addressing this change, stating that more details such as how to RSVP will be released Wednesday.
A picture of the email has been confirmed by Orlando.
“I realize many of your loved ones traveled great distances to attend Sunday’s ceremony and may not be able to make that trip again, and for that I am deeply sorry,” Richardson said in the email.
Richardson said he hopes to provide a live stream of the ceremony.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences ceremony, which started at 9 a.m. on Sunday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, was canceled just before 11 a.m. due to lightning in the area.
Students who were not recognized on the field were given the option to take photos with Richardson in a tunnel in the north end zone, Orlando said.
UF responded to the cancelation with plans to hold future individual college commencements indoors. The Summer, Fall and Spring 2020 ceremonies will be held indoors, while the university-wide ceremony will likely remain outdoors at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Orlando said in an announcement on Monday.
“We know how important that individual recognition is,” Orlando said, “and although it won’t make up for what happened on Sunday, we are committed to finding a way to hold all college recognition ceremonies indoors next May.”
