Dear DMU Campus Community,
Following the direction of the White House, the CDC and public health departments not to host events that gather large groups of people, and in the interest of preserving public health, Des Moines University has made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s commencement ceremony planned for May 22, 2020. We know how disappointing this decision is, but we are all living through unprecedented times of heightened risk to our public health. The University is exploring options to provide graduates possible alternatives to celebrate this important milestone; we will provide an update on those possibilities when we have more information.
At the same time, we also made the tough decision to cancel that week’s Alumni Reunion and related activity on campus. Our teams are determining what options we might have to hold a few virtual sessions.
DMU’s main operating principles are to be focused on protecting public health by minimizing the potential spread of the COVID-19 infection within our community and in the broader society, and to keep essential university operations running to the benefit of students, faculty and staff.
We will soon provide additional guidance regarding how we will complete this spring semester for all of our programs. In the meantime, students continue to be encouraged to remain off-campus. Everyone is encouraged to avoid gathering, even in smaller groups, and to practice social distancing and good hygiene.
We are an exceptional university because of the people who work and learn here. We are grateful for everyone’s continuing support of DMU and your understanding during these difficult times. Thank you, all.
Expect more information to follow.
Most respectfully,
Angela L. Walker Franklin, Ph.D.
President and CEO
