George Washington University will hold an in-person commencement ceremony on the National Mall in October. Students from the classes of 2020 and 2021 will be honored at the ceremony. How many will bother to come back, of course, is a question.
This spring, GW was the only one of the five major universities in DC to have an entirely virtual ceremony, citing restrictions on public gatherings, such as those from the National Park Service. Meanwhile, American, Georgetown, Howard, and Catholic universities all held in-person commencements.
Many details aren’t confirmed, such as who the commencement speaker will be, but school officials wanted to allow time for students and guests to make plans. The commencement will be October 2 at 11 a.m., and students are allowed to bring up to four guests.
It was announced earlier this year that the spring’s virtual commencement speaker Lonnie Bunch, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree.
