As the end of the semester approaches, so does graduation and with COVID-19 still impacting daily life, some may be wondering how an in-person graduation will be COVID-19 friendly while still celebrating the graduating students effectively. Rob Stewart, senior vice provost of Academic Affairs at Texas Tech, said the improvement in the pandemic, as well as requests from students and families, largely contributed to the decision to have graduation in-person. âThere are still protocols in place,â Stewart said. âWeâre still going to have social distancing, masks are going to be required and, so its not like our pre-pandemic graduation ceremonies we still have those precautions in place.â