U. of Oregon Ducks Plan That Would Have Bumped Commencement for Sporting Event
Next year’s graduating seniors at the University of Oregon can rest easy: They will now take their final exams first, in June 2010, and then graduate, instead of the other way around.
Last December the university announced that it was flipping its schedule for final exams and commencement in order to accommodate the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Finals. The decision, echoing the command of Lewis Carroll’s Queen of Hearts (“Sentence first — verdict afterwards”), advanced the graduation event by a week, to avoid conflicting with the sporting event. Priorities must be respected.
But now the university has changed its mind and restored commencement to its originally scheduled date, June 12, 2010. What changed?
According to a message to the campus this week from James C. Bean, senior vice president and provost, the NCAA seems likely to eliminate regional qualifying meets, which would enable the finals to be moved forward by a week. In addition, Mr. Bean said, concerns have been allayed that local hotels in Eugene, Ore., might not be able to handle the crowds for both the NCAA event and commencement at the same time. [The Chronicle of Higher Education]
