University of Canterbury announces special graduate celebrations for 2010 graduates

The University of Canterbury Council has announced that it will hold special graduate celebrations for 2010 graduates in April in Christchurch and Auckland.

Following the earthquake of 22 February, the University of Canterbury Council made the decision to cancel its scheduled graduation ceremonies due to be held at the Christchurch Town Hall in the central city in April and awarded degrees to 2010 graduands ‘in absentia’ (i.e. without graduands attending a formal graduation ceremony).

“The decision to cancel our graduation ceremonies was a very difficult one but was based on information available at the time and our genuine commitment to work with the Christchurch City Council and Civil Defence to relieve pressure on Christchurch’s infrastructure,” said University of Canterbury Registrar, Jeff Field.

“Since that time, thanks to support from the University of Canterbury Students’ Association and a very generous offer from the University of Auckland, we have evaluated our capacity to deliver celebrations for 2010 graduates and we are now able to announce dates for graduate events to celebrate the achievements of our 2010 graduates.”

The graduate celebrations will be held in Auckland on 19 April and in Christchurch on 20 April. These will not be graduation ceremonies, but will enable graduates to be acknowledged individually and congratulated by family, friends and academic staff. Photography services will be on-site.

“We realise the importance of celebrating and acknowledging the hard work and dedication of our 2010 graduates. They have overcome adversity to complete their degree studies and have contributed a huge amount to the Christchurch community.

“While we are not in a position to offer the full graduation ceremony in April we feel that the graduate celebrations will offer a much-needed opportunity for the UC community to come together in a positive way.”

Graduates wishing to attend the celebrations need to apply online at www.canterbury.ac.nz/graduation by 5pm, Monday 28 March.