At a time when social distancing remains a necessity to combat the global pandemic, West Chester University will dress out in purple and gold this week in a university-wide salute to the Class of 2020.

WCU’s “Virtual Celebration of the Class of 2020” will not be an online graduation ceremony, as the university promises to hold a series of special in-person commencements at a later date when it has been determined safe to convene groups.

Some of this week’s many special tributes include the sharing of a heartfelt video by WCU President Christopher Fiorentino and the university’s eight deans on May 7, as well as the posting on May 8 of a video salute to the Class of 2020 featuring hundreds of photos and taped footage of the class. Names of the members of the Class of 2020 will be scrolled at the end of the video.

Virtual creativity surrounds WCU’s Class of 2020 with:

• downloadable congratulation signs that grads can display proudly on their front doors and windows
• downloadable Zoom signs that show all “Zoomers” how proud WCU grads are today
• a SnapChat Filter where grads can dress in WCU’s virtual cap to snap and share
• a hashtag that grads will be able to share in social media posts and tag in Instagram Stories

“To the Class of 2020, know that we, your West Chester University family, are quite proud of all that you have achieved,” Fiorentino said in his message, which was videotaped from his home on a cell phone. “You have persevered day in and day out. You have embraced challenges and learned as much from failure as you did from success. And you have made a difference on this campus and in this world. You have touched all of us.

“While we cannot celebrate these profound achievements in-person yet, know that one day soon, when it is safe to do so, we will come back together again on this campus that we all treasure. You will return with your families and friends, and we will celebrate you and your many accomplishments in true purple and gold fanfare. We promise.”

Effective May 8, WCU’s Class of 2020 will be considered alumni. There are 3,243 students (2,474 undergraduates, as well as 743 master’s and 26 doctoral degree recipients) eligible to graduate this spring at a time when the university is in its 147th year of conferring degrees. The number of graduates include those eligible in May and August. Per the university’s standard academic protocol, all WCU graduates will receive their formal, hard-copy degrees in the mail at the usual time in June, following a review of final transcripts.

[lp-contribute]