UNE graduatuion ceremonies to be held for first time since COVID-19 began

An influx of visitors to Armidale is expected for the weekend with more than 2000 students attending.

After a hiatus of over two years due to late 2019 bushfires and then the COVID-19 pandemic, UNE will re-commence physical graduations, and has reached out to graduates from the past two years to attend.

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There are about 2400 recent alumni who have indicated they wish to attend a ceremony, the university said.

UNE Vice Chancellor and CEO, Professor Brigid Heywood, said the announcement had been in the planning for months.

"We are acutely aware how much this signature event means to our UNE graduands and their families, not-withstanding the benefits that the whole New England community receive, having such a vibrant and excited arrival of people visiting our region," Professor Heywood said.

She said the months of planning go towards assuring that the event is safe for the whole community, when there is such a large number of students and their families coming to Armidale.

UNE had hoped to announce physical graduations for April, August and then December last year, however the ever-changing health orders complete with the October storm forced the decision to cancel these celebrations.

After reaching out to all graduands who missed out on physical graduation ceremonies since 2019, an initial number of these will be invited to extra April ceremonies over the weekend.

UNE has indicated it will announce further ceremonies for this group of Alumni to attend throughout this year.

The graduations will commence at 10.30am on Friday, April 29, Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1, on the lawns of Booloominbah.

In the event of wet weather, the ceremonies will be held in Campbell Hall at Sport UNE due to the damage Lazenby Hall sustained during the October storm.

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