Nevada State College again delays in-person graduation

The Henderson college is now aiming for later this year or spring 2021, but a date hasn’t been set yet.

“It’s our full intent to have the type of ceremony they deserve at a time when it’s safe,” NSC President Bart Patterson said Thursday.

In the interim, NSC announced Wednesday it’s holding an online graduation celebration at 6 p.m. Aug. 18 — the same date an in-person event was originally scheduled at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

The virtual celebration will include a slideshow that features each graduate’s name, the degree earned and a photo. Each student in the graduating class should have received an individualized email link from GradImages to submit their photo and the deadline is 11:59 p.m. Friday.

NSC postponed its graduation in the spring as a result of the pandemic.

The college surveyed its class of 2020 and the majority of respondents said they wanted a delayed in-person ceremony instead of a virtual-only option. College officials decided to push the graduation date from May to August.

The hope was Nevada would be in the third or fourth phase of reopening by August, which would allow for larger gatherings, Patterson said Thursday. “Obviously, that’s not what happening in the state.”

Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Monday that a new long-term COVID-19 mitigation strategy will be rolled out next week. Nevada has been in phase two of reopening for about two months and there’s a statewide directive that limits in-person gatherings to no more than 50 people.

The College of Southern Nevada also plans to hold an in-person graduation ceremony when it’s safe, but a date or location hasn’t been determined, spokesman Richard Lake said Thursday.

At UNLV, the spring 2020 graduation ceremony is still postponed indefinitely, spokeswoman Keyonna Summers said.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.