U of M College of Liberal Arts ends December commencements

The University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts is putting an end to December commencements.

For decades the college has held commencement in December for its fall grads in Northrop Auditorium.  Northrop is closed for renovations, and when it opens in two years, it'll be too small to hold the 600 grads and their thousands of guests. 

Where else could CLA December graduation be held?  Spring graduations are held in Mariucci Arena while Northrop is closed.  But December is hockey season at Mariucci, so it's full of ice and unavailable.

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The folks at CLA looked at other venues on campus.  They were either unavailable, or were too expensive to set up for one commencement (the CLA is the only college at the U that's offered a December commencement).

CLA officials realize the move will will upset a few soon-to-be grads, so they're going to offer a smaller graduation "celebration" in December at the McNamara Alumni Center.

And if fall graduates still want to tassel up and walk across a stage to get their diploma, they can, they'll just have to wait until spring.