Central Arizona College’s graduation ceremony will have a change of scenery this year. With the Signal Peak campus breaking ground on their new Student Union, the Green will not be available to host the event. To accommodate for the construction, the graduation ceremony will be held at the Casa Grande Union High School football field. Due to CAC’s strong partnership with CGUHS administration and Dr. Shannon Goodshell, Superintendent of Schools, the transition of ceremony space has been easy.

Over the last few months, CAC and CGUHS have met and discussed a plan to ensure that the graduation ceremony is conducted smoothly and students have an experience similar to the one at SPC. The event is set to mirror the college’s usual graduation ceremony. The only difference is families will be able to purchase concessions and flowers for their graduates. At this moment, it is not clear if this will be an occurrence at future ceremonies. Because CGUHS is near SPC, there should be little, if any, additional commute.

The construction of SPC’s Student Union is set to be completed by the start of the Fall 2018 semester. This year’s location for graduation will not be permanent. According to CAC administration, initial conversations with architects, indicate a space will be reserved on the Green for future graduations. The space will be big enough to house the college’s large graduating classes, family, and staff; there will also be room for expansion.