Class of 2020 Commencement Previous Updates

Update from 3/12/2021: We promised you an update on Commencement today. As we continue in conversation with the County of Santa Barbara, in order to have the information needed to announce Commencement plans, we need to delay our email update to you to March 19. As you can imagine, the fluctuating aspects of the pandemic are behind this needed delay.

Please keep an eye out for an email next Friday.

Update from 1/26/2021: Westmont is committed to celebrating you and your accomplishments in person during a ceremony on campus even though we’ll gather a year later than originally planned. We expect and hope to hold a one-day event for the class of 2020 on Saturday, May 1, 2021, complete with the traditional bagpipers on campus.

We’ll learn more about COVID-19 in the weeks and months ahead and the protocols necessary to keep everyone safe. We’ll keep you informed with important updates about the event. As you plan to attend Commencement, please keep in mind the dynamic nature of the pandemic and its impact on travel and face-to-face events.

We sincerely wish to honor each of you and hope you’ll join us as we celebrate your graduation from Westmont on Saturday, May 1, 2021.

Update from 10/28/2020: We’re excited to announce a date for the 2020 Commencement ceremony: Saturday, May 1, 2021. This one-day event will begin with the Baccalaureate service in the morning followed by a brunch and then the graduation ceremony in the afternoon led by the traditional bagpipers.

Of course, we’ll follow all the county and state guidelines and protocols regarding public events to protect everyone from COVID-19. As a result, we anticipate that we’ll need to limit the number of people attending the ceremony.

By working closely with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, we’ve brought students back to campus and kept them safe with limited outbreaks to date. We’ll continue to take all the appropriate precautions to make the Commencement celebration as safe as possible.

We look forward to honoring each of you and your great accomplishment, and we hope to see you in your cap and gown Saturday, May 1, 2021.