SLU Commencement 2021: What to Know About This Year’s Events
05/06/2021
Saint Louis University will celebrate the accomplishments of December 2020 and May 2021 graduates with a virtual, pre-recorded commencement ceremony, preceded by in-person precommencements for each individual college and school.
To comply with the University’s COVID-19 policies, seating for the in-person events will be limited. Those who can’t attend in person won’t miss out — all precommencement ceremonies will be streamed and available on SLU's web site.
In an update message to the SLU community on Friday, May 14, President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., announced that students can now bring a total of four guests to their precommencement ceremony. All those who attend will be required to practice social distancing and wear face masks.
Precommencement Ceremonies Kick Off May 18
Saint Louis University graduates will be honored at precommencement ceremonies held by their college or school. In order to keep capacity low and make sure the ceremonies are safe, some colleges will host multiple precommencement ceremonies.
Precommencement ceremonies start Tuesday, May 18, and continue through Saturday, May 22.
See the Precommencement Schedule
Each event will be broadcast live at its listed time. Once an event has ended, a recording will be available.
All ceremonies can be found on SLU's web site, on SLU’s YouTube channel, and on the respective Facebook page of each college or school.
Online Commencement Ceremony
The pre-recorded, virtual main commencement will feature special guest speakers, the bestowment of honorary degrees and other traditions associated with the annual event. The video of the ceremony will debut online at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 23, at https://www.slu.edu/commencement/2021.php.
Baccalaureate Mass Scheduled
In addition to the precommencement and commencement ceremonies, SLU will host a Baccalaureate Mass at 5 p.m. Sunday, May 16, in St. Francis Xavier College Church.
In keeping with the University’s COVID-19 guidelines, only graduating students will be allowed to attend in person. Registration is required and more Masses may be added based on the number of students registering.
Family members, alumni, faculty and staff can watch the Mass live on YouTube.
Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degrees
Alexander Garza, M.D., the incident commander of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, will speak to December 2020 and May 2021 graduates during a prerecorded event that will debut online at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 23. Garza is a SLU alumnus.
The chief community health officer of SSM Health, Garza was tapped in April 2020 to lead a coalition of the region’s four largest health care systems in a unified response to COVID-19. Garza has helped coordinate capacity, staffing and supplies. And he kept the public informed by hosting daily briefings on social media.
In addition to delivering a commencement address, Garza will join four others in receiving honorary doctoral degrees from Saint Louis University this year.
Brenda and Larry Thompson are being recognized with honorary degrees for their dedication to collecting, sharing and preserving African American works of art. Brenda is a SLU alumna, earning her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University in 1980.
Linda and Alan Vogt are being honored with honorary degrees for their longtime support of Billiken athletics and student-athletes at Saint Louis University. Alan is a 1969 graduate of SLU’s Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business.
May 2020 Graduates
The University’s Office of Alumni Engagement has been working with the Class of 2020 to plan a special event to recognize their achievements during their time at SLU.
Based on survey responses, an overwhelming majority of graduates asked that SLU host Commencement and Celebration Weekend from Aug. 6-8.
In the coming weeks, graduates will receive more information about the weekend’s planned events.