Pitt Greensburg officials pivot on Hempfield campus commencement plans

Two weeks after announcing it would hold a drive-thru commencement, the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg has pivoted and will offer students the opportunity to turn the tassels on their mortarboards and march to “Pomp and Circumstance” at its Hempfield campus on May 1.

The change in plans came after a student-led online petition garnered more than 300 signatures in support of a traditional commencement ceremony.

Brandon Reitz, a 22-year-old Pitt Greensburg senior, launched the petition drive. He said he was upset that the small regional campus that boasts of a personal approach to higher education was balking at holding in-person commencement for 239 graduates at the same time Pitt’s main campus in Oakland was offering several thousand graduates an opportunity to collect their degrees in person.

Like many of his classmates, the McKeesport native already had bought his cap and gown in anticipation of a ceremony. His entire family was excited about watching the young man — the first member of the family to attend college — graduate.

And after going thousands of dollars in debt and spending late nights studying and holding a job while attending classes, Reitz wanted to celebrate with them.

Less than 48 hours after his petition drive went live and the Tribune-Review reported on the effort, officials at Pitt-Greensburg backtracked on the drive-thru commencement and temporarily put those plans on hold.

Robert Gregerson, who became president of Pitt-Greensburg in 2019, said he was surprised when the online student protest took off.

“Our goal (with drive-thru commencement) was to operate as safely as we could. That has been our goal all along. But we stopped and listened to what the students had to say,” he said.

That turned out to be a lot.

About 70 students signed on for a Zoom meeting with Gregerson to discuss their concerns.

Reitz said the online meeting quickly filled up with comments from students in support of a traditional commencement.

Gregerson described the hourlong meeting as largely positive.

“I thought it was really good when we were finished,” he said.

Gregerson said student concerns as well as increased vaccination rates figured into the decision to abandon the drive-thru event. The new plan calls for graduating seniors to collect their diplomas at three small ceremonies May 1 (at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.) Each graduate will be permitted to bring two guests.

The plan is similar to those other colleges have adopted, requiring masks and breaking commencement into multiple ceremonies to observe social distancing protocols.

Gregerson said officials at Pitt Greensburg are counting heads to get a number of how many students will participate in commencement. He hopes at least 180 graduating seniors decide to come back to campus to mark their accomplishments.

Reitz said he’s come away with a new sense of confidence.

“I learned that if you want something done, just try,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to take action.”