Manatee Review

University of South Florida-St Petersburg issued the following announcement on Aug. 18.

The University of South Florida will confer approximately 3,000 degrees during summer commencement scheduled for Aug. 21-22, as ceremonies return to the Yuengling Center in Tampa after being held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg in the spring.

In addition, approximately 1,200 graduates from the classes of 2020 or spring 2021 whose commencement ceremonies were impacted by COVID-19 have made plans to return and will be welcomed back by USF to participate in a traditional in-person experience with their families. When COVID-19 forced their commencement ceremonies to be modified or held virtually, USF committed to offering those graduates an opportunity to participate in a traditional in-person ceremony at a later date.

USF President Rhea Law will preside over all seven ceremonies.

FACTS ABOUT THE SUMMER 2021 CLASS

Nearly 3,000 degrees will be awarded in the summer 2021 class, including 1,995 undergraduate, 809 master’s, 181 doctoral and 10 specialist degrees.

The graduates represent 39 U.S. states and 78 nations, with 16 undergraduate students earning a perfect 4.0 GPA. The youngest graduate is a 19 year old earning a bachelor’s degree in forensic studies and justice. The oldest graduate is a 69 year old earning a master’s degree in intelligence studies.

Check out profiles of some of our USF Graduates here.

CEREMONY INFORMATION

Saturday, Aug. 21 – Summer 2021 Graduates

8:30 a.m.: Morsani College of Medicine, College of Nursing, Taneja College of Pharmacy and College of Public Health – Live Stream

12:00 p.m.: College of Arts and Sciences – Live Stream

3:30 p.m.: Muma College of Business – Live Stream

7:00 p.m.: College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, College of Education, College of Engineering, Patel College of Global Sustainability, College of Graduate Studies, College of Marine Science, College of The Arts and the Office of Undergraduate Studies- Live Stream

Sunday, Aug. 22 – Previous Graduates   

9:00 a.m.: College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, College of Education, College of Engineering, Morsani College of Medicine, College of Nursing, Taneja College of Pharmacy and College of Public Health – Live Stream

1:30 p.m.: College of Arts and Sciences – Live Stream

6:00 p.m.: Muma College of Business, Patel College of Global Sustainability, College of Graduate Studies, College of Marine Science, College of The Arts and the Office of Undergraduate Studies – Live Stream

HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES

In keeping with CDC guidance, all those in attendance are expected to wear a face mask for the duration of the ceremony, regardless of vaccination status. Masks will be available at no charge for all those entering the building.

USF also added additional ceremonies to the original schedule for both Saturday and Sunday as an extra COVID-19 mitigation measure. The added ceremonies allow for fewer graduates and attendees at each one, providing more opportunities for physical distancing throughout the arena. With no assigned seating, guests are encouraged to leave space between themselves and other parties when possible. This plan will also create slightly shorter ceremonies, thus reducing the amount of time graduates and their families are in close proximity with others. 

For guests who may not feel comfortable attending in person, or are unable to travel, each ceremony will be live streamed.

Original source can be found here.