Again, we are so sorry that this was necessary.Īs we reported Friday, after conferring with our public safety experts, we determined we had to shorten Saturday’s program.Īfter we shared that update with you, we heard from many of you about how important it was that you could cross the stage and have your name announced. After reviewing all these factors, the UC Davis Fire Department, Fire Prevention Services, and Environmental Health and Safety mandated that we end the ceremony at once to avoid further crisis. On top of these factors, our first responders had already answered more than 30 medical calls and sent six guests to the hospital for symptoms related to heat exposure. We knew there were still many students who had not crossed the stage yet, and we estimated that it would take at least another 45 minutes to get through those students. Our attention turned to our students on the field, where it was hottest, and where there was no access to shade. that conditions had deteriorated significantly and reached a point when it was unsafe to continue.Īt the same time, our water on hand began running low, and we did not have a way to bring more supplies to the stadium quickly enough to serve all of the people in need.
The temperature in the stadium on Friday rose earlier than expected. Safety personnel from Fire Prevention Services, Fire Department, and Risk Management monitored rising temperatures as well as the larger context of continued access to water and shelter. to avoid the hottest part of the day.Īs we became aware of the extreme heat forecast a week prior to Friday’s ceremony, we enhanced our infrastructure plan by adding more cooling stations around the stadium, including misters, shade tents, water stations and cooling buses. We were scheduled to wrap up before 11 a.m. We recognized that it can be very hot in June in Davis, as we had planned throughout the year for contingencies, and we started the ceremony at 8 a.m. Our original planning included watching the livestream of the event from the air-conditioned University Credit Union Center. There are no indoor venues located in Davis or on campus that can hold an event of this size.
The stadium has a greater capacity than previous venues we have used, which means that we can commemorate your extraordinary achievements in a more appropriate setting with more family and friends in attendance.
This was our first time holding commencement in this venue. I’d like to provide some context about Friday and our decision-making. Once we get feedback from the survey, we’ll provide further details about dates and times. We are also working on a survey that we will send to those impacted students about their feedback for the timing of a makeup commencement. The commencement team communicated this message to graduates yesterday. We have offered a regalia refund of $58, which covers the cap, gown and tassel, to graduates who were not able to be recognized on Friday and Saturday. A good portion of our graduating class did not get to celebrate a major milestone properly, and for that I am sorry. The happiness of our students, faculty and staff is a close second. I say this often because it’s the truth: The health and safety of the campus is always our highest priority. I apologize for the pain, anger and frustration many of you have experienced and expressed. (I’ll also provide updates to our COVID prevention practices later in this letter.) Commencement did not go as planned, and while we did our best to mitigate against the rising temperatures on Friday morning, I know it was not enough. I’m writing today about our undergraduate commencement ceremonies that were held from Friday through Sunday at UC Davis Health Stadium.
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