George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D.
President/Chief Executive Officer

MEMORANDUM

To:

All NSU Students, Faculty and Staff 

From:

George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D.
President and CEO

Date:

April 15, 2021

Re:

Update: Countdown to May Graduations 

I promised to you in an earlier email that I would provide an update on April 15 regarding how the 2021 commencement season would be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our plan to honor our 2021 graduates at the Hard Rock Stadium was designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our students, families, faculty, and staff members. I am pleased to inform you that we will move forward with the commencement ceremonies and I’m glad that we will be able to celebrate together in-person and online worldwide.

The dates for the ceremonies and access to the day-of livestream via web will be available at: nova.edu/commencement.

Along with this good news, I must also share the bad news, which is that the positivity rates in the state of Florida overall—as well as the individual rates in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties—are ranging between 7 and 8.25 percent, which is well above the 5 percent rate we had all hoped for back in January. The safety of all participants is our paramount concern, so we must limit the number of guests at the in-person commencement ceremonies.

After consulting with our NSU health care experts, we will be capping the maximum number of guests each graduate may invite to up to 4 people and each graduate’s guests will be seated together in their own respective “pod” to maintain social distancing. In line with CDC guidelines, such as wearing a face covering, pods will be spaced out with at least 6 feet of distance between them. Concessions cannot be offered due to the high positivity rate, so all attendees should plan accordingly. We will make complimentary bottled water available, as well as full-length ponchos for the graduates in the event of inclement weather. Access to public areas, such as restrooms, will be carefully managed to allow for social distancing.

This last year has been difficult, and I look forward to celebrating our new Shark graduates’ accomplishments. While we cannot accommodate unlimited guests as originally intended, I am delighted that we can celebrate your achievements together, in the presence of family and friends worldwide via livestream.

Fins Up!

George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Nova Southeastern University