In a letter to the “Alcorn State University Community” Wednesday, Alcorn State President Felecia Nave announced the school’s annual Alumni Reunion Weekend and spring commencement have been “postponed until further notice.”

The move is in response to the threat posed by the spread of the COVID-19 virus and follows similar announcements by a number of universities and colleges throughout Mississippi.

“Graduating from Alcorn is one of the major highlights and milestones in your journey,” Nave wrote in the letter. “Celebrating your accomplishments with family, friends and the University is a special moment that we know you have dreamt about from the first day you set foot on the campus until you could take your last final exam. For those of you who are first in your family to earn a college degree, we understand walking across the stage is an even more poignant and life-defining moment.”

Nave said the decision “became obvious” when the Centers for Disease Control recommended gatherings of no more than 50 people for the next eight weeks. The decision, too, was strengthened when the Mississippi Institution of Higher Learning recommended commencement exercises be postponed indefinitely.