SALT LAKE CITY — Ordinarily, commencement ceremonies at the University of Utah are loud, joyful celebrations in the Jon M. Huntsman Center with speakers appearing larger than life on the arena’s center-hung, four-sided video screens.

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the event to the small screen as the University of Utah will conduct its first virtual commencement at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, when in-person rites were originally scheduled.

“We’re excited be able to help our graduates and their families celebrate in this unconventional way, but nevertheless celebrate,” said U. President Ruth Watkins in a Zoom interview Monday. The university looks forward to in-person convocations on Dec. 18 and 19, she said.

The Class of 2020 includes 8,628 graduates with the youngest an 18-year-old who has earned a graduate degree, while the eldest graduates are 69-year-olds graduating with bachelor’s and graduate degrees.

The commencement ceremonies, to be carried at utah.edu/live and KUTV.com, will feature keynote speaker John Warnock, Adobe Inc. co-founder who earned three degrees from the U., and student speaker Miranda Stewart, who is graduating with majors in sociology and international studies.

Stewart, in a prepared statement, said she and her graduating class had been dealt “some exceptionally challenging hands.”

“We have faced every tragedy and trial with grace and resiliency. No, it is not fair, but none of us is facing it alone. Being in the same boat means we all weather this storm together and I have no doubt we will make it through.”

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As the speakers have prepared for the event, they have rehearsed by speaking to video cameras, a far different experience than addressing a basketball arena full of graduates, academics, and proud family and friends.

“You definitely don’t quite have the same buzz of the crowd that you do in a usual commencement where there’s a lot of boisterous celebrating, but I think all of us know the accomplishments of our graduates are remarkable and perhaps even more remarkable than in a typical year given what our students have had to navigate this spring semester,” Watkins said.

“The opportunity to commemorate those achievements and recognize the accomplishments of some 8,600 students earning 9,200-plus degrees, it’s important we do that. It’s the business that we’re in and we’re driving so hard toward, helping more students complete their degrees in a timely manner,” she said.

The university will award 9,280 degrees, among them 5,851 bachelor’s degrees. Some students earn multiple degrees.

The top 10 undergraduate majors are psychology, communication, kinesiology, biology, nursing, economics, mechanical engineering, political science, accounting and finance.

The U. will also award 2,411 master’s degrees; 686 doctorate degrees; 92 law degrees; 134 medical degrees; 60 doctor of pharmacy degrees and 46 doctor of dental surgery degrees.

The class of 2020 includes 321 veterans.

Graduates are encouraged to share memories of their time at the U. and graduation photos on social media using #UtahGrad20.

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