Dear Mason Class of 2020:
I hope this email finds you well and that your classes are going smoothly as we move into the last few weeks of the spring semester. I know this is not the ending to your studies that you had envisioned. Despite this, I want you to know that I couldn’t be prouder of your resilience and your adaptability. You’re not only completing your coursework but many of you are taking time to help others through this difficult crisis.
As I mentioned last week in our virtual town hall and follow-up message, because of the public health risks and the governor’s orders, and not surprisingly, we are unable to hold a traditional Spring Commencement ceremony this May. And yet many of you responded to our survey about a future commemorative event and your message was overwhelmingly clear: You want to walk across the stage at EagleBank Arena in front of friends and family, and we want to celebrate with you. You will all be invited to participate in an in-person ceremony at a future date when it is safe to do so.
In the meanwhile, we want to celebrate your accomplishments this spring. We have listened to your feedback on how best to do that, and I want to share with you the details about the Celebration of the Class of 2020.
We invite you to join us for a celebration of your efforts at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 22 on GMU-TV. This will include congratulatory messages from me and the deans, a short message from a member of the Class of 2020, a performance by the Green Machine, and special guests wishing you well. We hope you will take the time to celebrate your accomplishments and invite friends and family to do so as well.
In addition, each School and College will have its own dedicated graduation slide show with a message from your Dean and personalized slides for each graduate showing your name, degree, major and college. We invite you to share a photo along with an optional message for your personalized slide.
You will receive an email from Events with more information and additional specific details about what we can all look forward to during the celebration event.
We are all so proud of you and we can’t wait to honor you on May 22 and celebrate with you in person in the future.
Sincerely,
Anne Holton
Interim President