Augustana College will honor its 612 new graduates this weekend. Because of the pandemic, it will host a virtual commencement Saturday on YouTube Live.
Spokeswoman Keri Rursch says the ceremony will originate from Wallenberg Hall, and be hosted live by President Steve Bahls and Provost Wendy Hilton-Morrow. It will also feature several pre-recorded segments.
"Every year, Augustana graduates get a wonderful commencement ceremony and it's an important part of the way we cap off their experience at Augustana. And we didn't want it to be different this year."
The pre-recorded segments will include music by Augustana students, an invocation by Campus Chaplain Richard Priggie who's retiring, a member of the board of trustees who lives in Dallas, and a member of the Class of 2020 from the Chicago area.
The virtual commencement begins at 2 pm Saturday.
Rursch emphasizes this will be just the first of two ceremonies for this class - a traditional graduation ceremony will be held in October, as part of homecoming weekend, at the TaxSlayer Center.