It’s an important academic tradition that after years of study and hard work, students gather with classmates, professors, friends and family to celebrate their college graduation with a commencement ceremony.

President M. Roy Wilson knows how much that recognition means to students and their loved ones. That’s why, at his request, the university is hosting a special event, dubbed Commencement Redux, for the approximately 11,000 Wayne State University students who graduated during the pandemic but were unable to attend in-person events.

Commencement Redux will be held Thursday, May 12, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the new Wayne State Fieldhouse.

The event will have many elements of a traditional commencement ceremony, including addresses from the president, provost, keynote alumni speaker and the Wayne State University Alumni Association. A reception will follow that will include refreshments and giveaways from the alumni association, as well as commemorative photo opportunities. The option for wearing regalia will be provided, but not required.

“Our students deserve a special day of their own when it is safe and practical,” said Wilson. “They worked hard, and we want to give them an opportunity to celebrate with pomp and circumstance.”

The idea for the event stems from a commencement Wilson attended in 1995 at the University of Natal in South Africa. That event was a reconciliation ceremony for Black students who graduated more than 40 years but didn’t get a ceremony because of apartheid.

“I have attended a lot of graduations over the years, but that is one that I will never forget,” said Wilson, who attended as part of a delegation of U.S. higher education officials. “It was very powerful to see how much that event meant to those graduates who had endured so much. Although the circumstances are not comparable, it made me think that our students have also persevered through a challenging time and should be recognized.”  
 
Visit the Office of Alumni Relations for more information or to register.