The University of Connecticut has canceled graduation ceremonies for the first time since 1914. On Saturday, the tradition will have to be honored online. 

In the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities throughout the state are canceling in-person commencement ceremonies and opting for electronic celebrations. UConn, for example, will be holding commencement on YouTube Live at noon on Saturday. 

“There will be taped greetings from some of the brightest stars in UConn Nation, the official conferral of degrees for undergraduate and graduate students, and the name of every person receiving a degree this year will be listed,” President Thomas Katsouleas said in a statement. “If we can’t be together in person, we can at least be together through the medium of technology, and I hope you’ll join us and participate on social media, using the hashtag #UConn20.” 

UConn is urging students, parents and alumni to wear their UConn clothes during Saturday’s digital event. 

University spokesperson Stephanie Reitz mentioned the possibility of an in-person gathering of the Class of 2020 during a weekend in October. It’s still in its planning stages. Reitz said if the national health situation allows, 2020 graduates will be invited to campus and can wear their caps and gowns if they wish, and they will be recognized, although the school doesn’t definitively know how. 

“We’d still like for them to have some way to be honored in person for their accomplishments,” Reitz said.

To substitute for the in-person conferral of degrees, the end of the digital ceremony will include a list of names people can scroll through. Watching live is open to everyone — not just students and parents. The Class of 2020 will receive their diplomas 6-8 weeks after Saturday, which is the usual wait time for graduates. UConn is selling souvenir regalia online. 

Rather than individual graduations for UConn’s individual colleges, Saturday will be one big event. Retiz said she thinks Gov. Ned Lamont, UConn women’s basketball Coach Geno Auriemma, Katsouleas and Rhodes Scholar Wawa Gatheru will speak in a mix of pre-recorded and live addresses. 

“I think for a lot of people this is the culmination of all their hard work, and it feels like there’s not closure unless you get to graduate in some way,” Reitz said. 

Coast Guard Academy 

The Coast Guard Academy is the only U.S. service academy to hold a virtual graduation this year. 

Superintendent Rear Adm. Bill Kelly said he consulted with Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security officials, Gov. Ned Lamont’s office and the Class of 2020 before deciding to hold a virtual ceremony on May 20. 

“We need to make sure you arrive at your unit safe, ready to go, so that you do not impact yourself, you do not impact your unit, and you do not impact the service,” Kelly said to cadets in a recent video message. 

Cadets will report to their assignments 30 days after graduation, and in some cases they have made arrangements to show up early, Kelly said. 

Instead of sitting in chairs lining the academy’s football field, they will mark their graduation from their homes and watch the ceremony in groups of 40 on the video conferencing app Zoom. 

Before the commencement, which will feature a combination of live and pre-recorded videos, there will be a one-hour “pre show” filled with congratulatory messages from the governor, some of Connecticut’s congressional delegates and others, and the cadets themselves talking about their time at the academy. 

The academy is shipping the Class of 2020 graduation boxes that will include their dress whites and their new ensign shoulder boards — signifying their transition from cadets to the Coast Guard’s newest officers. 

“We’re trying to follow what a traditional commencement would look like as much as possible,” said Cmdr. Janine Donovan, the academy’s planning officer. 

Cadets won’t walk across a stage when their names are called and shake hands with Kelly and other dignitaries as they receive their commissions. Instead, a picture of them from their first year at the academy will appear on the screen and then be replaced by a picture of them during their last year. Their name, major and first Coast Guard assignment will also appear. 

When the cadets take their oath of office, the video will show them at their homes raising their right hands. Members of the academy’s choral group will sing the school’s alma mater. 

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, who is this year’s commencement speaker, will address cadets via video message. The commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Karl Schultz, and Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will also pre-record video messages to be shown during the ceremony, which will be streamed live on the academy’s Youtube channel. 

After the ceremony, Coast Guard aircraft will fly over the academy, as is customary, and a video message from the cadets’ families congratulating them will follow.

The Class of 2020 is the largest graduating class in the academy’s history with 256 cadets set to graduate May 20. The class also features the largest number of women to graduate from the academy in a single year — 101. The female cadets are graduating 40 years after the first class featuring women graduated from the academy. 

Connecticut College 

Connecticut College has postponed its 102nd commencement until May of 2021, but it’s still holding a virtual celebration at 2 p.m. on May 17, the originally scheduled commencement date. 

“While I think everyone knows this is the only responsible decision, it’s still sad for me to announce it,” President Katherine Bergeron said in a video posted April 11. “Without you, the end of this year just won’t be the same — for me, for trustees, for deans, for staff, and especially for the faculty.” 

Bergeron said Class of 2020 President Emma Benington formed a student committee to discuss commencement, and two things became clear: Students wanted their own commencement rather than a dual celebration with the Class of 2021, and they wanted May 17, 2020 “to be a unique event, not a substitute for the real thing.” 

Benington got in touch with David Kahn, an alumnus whose production company usually films commencement, for a video project. Benington collected more than 200 submissions from students, with the idea that students would record themselves where they are and get as creative as possible. 

“Some students threw items to the next video frame to their friends, some had fake diplomas and caps and gowns on, paper messages, dances, just really a bunch of unique gestures,” she told The Day this week. 

The virtual celebration will include a message from Patrick Awuah, entrepreneur and founding president of Ashesi University College in Ghana, who was the originally scheduled keynote speaker. 

Awuah will also give the keynote address at the in-person commencement scheduled for May 30, 2021 at 11 a.m. on Tempel Green. For the 2020 graduates’ in-person commencement, the senior class speaker will be Viridiana Villalva Salas, whose classmates selected her to speak via a committee. She will also be speaking for this year’s online ceremony. 

Three Rivers Community College 

Three Rivers Community College in Norwich had scheduled graduation for May 20. College officials are still working on the details for a virtual graduation to replace the originally scheduled proceedings. 

“We know that commencement is an important milestone to our students, so Three Rivers is planning a very special virtual ceremony to commemorate our graduates’ achievements,” a statement released Thursday by the college said. “We’ll even have the traditional bagpipe processional played by Professor Will O’Hare. Details and dates will be announced soon, and all graduates will be contacted with more information.” 

Specifics on how the ceremony will be broadcast also have not yet been set. 

Mitchell College 

Mitchell College is still finalizing plans to honor its Class of 2020 with a virtual ceremony and had not set a date as of Thursday, said college spokesperson Britt Barry. 

“At a later date, when it is safe to gather as a group, Mitchell plans to celebrate the graduates with an on-campus event,” Barry said.

Day Staff Writers Claire Bessette, Erica Moser and Greg Smith contributed to this report.