In-Person May Graduation
April 23, 2021
Contact: Rhonda Jessup
MOUNT OLIVE –The University of Mount Olive will graduate more than 350 students during three ceremonies over a two-day period. Due to COVID-19, it will be the first in-person ceremonies in over a year.
“Our students have worked so hard and have waited so long for graduation day, and we really want them to be able to be physically present and have the opportunity to walk across the stage to receive their diploma covers,” said UMO President Dr. H. Edward Croom.
The graduation ceremonies will be held by school. The commencement for the School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences and all associate’s degree graduates will be Friday, April 30 at 3:30 PM. At 7 PM, The Tillman School of Business will hold exercises for its graduates. The third, and final ceremony will be conducted on Saturday, May 1, at 10 AM for the School of Arts and Sciences. Graduates will be allowed two non-transferable guest tickets each. The ceremonies will be held in Kornegay Arena, with sanitation measures being taken between events.
“I look forward to elbow bumping and taking socially distanced selfies with students as they cross the graduation stage,” Croom said. “Balancing safety and tradition is important as students gather for this important milestone in their lives.”
The ceremonies will be live-streamed, allowing friends and family to view their graduates from the comfort and safety of their homes. There will also be a full ceremony video released the week after graduation which will include pre-recorded graduation speeches and a full program.
The pre-recorded commencement address will be delivered by University of Mount Olive (UMO) Alumnus Glenn M. McNeill, Jr. McNeill is recently retired from the position of Commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. The University President and Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs will deliver brief in-person remarks at each event.
“We are excited to be able to provide these three events so our students can experience some type of normalcy, after a year of anything but normal,” Croom said.
The University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The University is sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists. For more information, visit www.umo.edu.
