Public health concerns have forced Boise State University to cancel large public gatherings on campus through the end of the calendar year — including the annual Winter Commencement.
Idaho cases of COVID-19 jumped in June and have remained high through the summer. Boise’s local health district tightened rules around public events in June, and Boise State’s athletic conference, the Mountain West, has indefinitely postponed all fall sports, including football.
“I know that this will be a truly heartbreaking loss for our students who have worked so hard to achieve their goals as well as for their faculty, friends and family who long to celebrate these accomplishments, and I grieve that with all my heart,” said Dr. Marlene Tromp, Boise State’s president. “Commencement is a landmark event for the institution and also in the lives of our students. This is an especially tough blow to the Spring 2020 graduates who we sincerely hoped would be able to join us in person this December. These are extraordinary and extraordinarily difficult times across the globe, and I hope every graduating Bronco still embraces the pride and joy of their achievement, even in the face of losses occasioned by the global pandemic.”
All spring, summer and winter 2020 graduates will be invited to participate in a virtual ceremony in December. The university continues to hope and plan for spring 2021 ceremonies with cautious optimism given predictions of the virus and its continued threat to the health and safety of the most vulnerable people in our communities.
“We treasure our graduates and want to celebrate and honor them, as soon as we can safely do so,” Tromp said.
Boise State University welcomed students back to campus this fall to a future-facing blend of in-person, online and hybrid courses, lab work and field research designed to keep students safe, on track to reach their academic goals and meaningfully connected to each other and their faculty. It may not feel the same as a traditional fall semester in Boise — but our faculty and staff are determined to embrace the challenge to produce a rigorous, engaging and rewarding experience for all students.
About 60 percent of the seats in Boise State’s Fall 2020 classes are being delivered remotely. To accommodate the physical distance needed to keep in-person classes and experiences safe, the university is using large meeting rooms generally open to public events. As a result, all large public events will be cancelled or postponed through this calendar year.
Learn more about event guidelines for the fall semester at boisestate.edu/eventservices/.