University Of Michigan Withdraws From Hosting October Debate

The University of Michigan officially withdrew from hosting the Oct. 15 presidential debate over coronavirus concerns.

“It is with great disappointment that I must ask for the University of Michigan to be released from its agreement with the Commission on Presidential Debates to host the Presidential Debate on Oct. 15, 2020,” Mark Schlissel, the president of the University of Michigan, said in a letter addressed to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The decision, announced Tuesday, was originally reported by The Detroit Free Press and was later confirmed by The University Record.

The debate will move to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, the commission announced. The debate is still scheduled for Oct. 15.

“Given the scale and complexity of the work we are undertaking to help assure a safe and healthy fall for our students, faculty and staff and limited visitors — and in consideration of the public health guidelines in our state as well as advice from our own experts — we feel it is not feasible for us to safely host the presidential debate as planned,” Schlissel said in the letter.

The October debate is the second of three scheduled presidential debates, with the first one slated for Sept. 29 at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana and the third one scheduled for Oct. 22 at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. The vice presidential debate is still set to occur at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Oct. 7.