Carnegie Mellon, Carlow, Cal U and Slippery Rock cancel spring commencement

Carnegie Mellon, California, Carlow and Slippery Rock universities joined the growing list of colleges and universities across the country canceling or postponing spring commencement ceremonies.

Those decisions follow growing urgency in pronouncements from public health experts cautioning against public gatherings of 10 or more people.

Carnegie Mellon Monday morning announced it is canceling the May 17 commencement ceremony at its Oakland campus and will instead hold a virtual ceremony.

Slippery Rock University in Butler County followed suit shortly thereafter, saying in an email that health concerns forced the decision.

Officials at Carlow said graduating seniors will be notified of alternative plans as soon as a decision is reached.

CalU announced its decision last week in a communication to seniors, saying they are exploring alternatives to honor the school’s seniors. University President Geraldine Jones assured seniors the school will find some way to mark this important accomplishment for hundreds of students previously scheduled to collect degrees in May.

Carnegie Mellon President Farnham Jahanian announced his decision to cancel commencement in an email to the student body.

“To our graduating students, the decision — like so many of the past few weeks — ranks among the hardest I have had to make as president. You have sacrificed several cherished CMU traditions during your final semester, and it pains me to add one more,” Jahanian wrote.

“As with other parallel steps we have taken as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, we have come to this decision in order to protect the health and well-being of our entire community and to comply with guidance by the CDC to avoid congregate gatherings,” he said.

The university announced Friday that a student who returned from spring break had tested positive for covid-19 and was self-quarantining in an off-campus apartment.

Many other universities are opting to forgo commencement as well.

Locally, CMU’s decision to cancel spring graduation ceremonies follows similar announcements from the University of Pittsburgh and Point Park University last week.