The fall semester at Colorado State University has been unlike any autumn educational experience in the 150-plus-year history of the state’s land grant institution. So, fittingly, a unique graduation awaits the 2,000-plus students of the fall semester who have navigated the challenging waters of 2020 to earn degrees.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the traditional graduation ceremony will be replaced by a virtual experience beginning Friday, Dec. 18. Virtual celebrations will be held on the CSU Commencement website and will include a conferral from CSU President Joyce McConnell, congratulatory messages from deans, leadership and videos from each of CSU’s eight colleges. Each 2020 graduate – spring, summer and fall — will be showcased with a personalized slide.
For the fall semester, when the final caps have been tossed in the air and the last tassel has been flipped, CSU will have awarded 1,522 undergraduate degrees, 706 master’s degrees and 68 doctorates. There also will be four Army ROTC and two Air Force ROTC students commissioned as officers.
Deeply proud of CSU’s 2020 graduates
“I am so deeply proud of our graduating students,” said CSU Provost and Executive Vice President Mary Pedersen. “I hope they take this opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the wonderful accomplishment they have achieved. This is a time to also think about what is really important to them as they move on to their next aspirations and ambitions, whether it is a new job, graduate or postdoctoral program, or other goals. They have reached this point through the extra challenges of dealing with the pandemic, and they have proven they can be resilient and work towards achieving amazing accomplishments in the most difficult times. They are truly Rams and truly Stalwart.”
Ceremonial Oval Walk
In addition to the upcoming virtual celebrations, CSU hosted a ceremonial walk across the historic Oval in November to honor the university’s 2020 graduates.
All 2020 Ram grads, whether they received their degrees in May or December, were invited to walk with their college and department on an assigned day and time. The ceremonies were livestreamed online for friends and families who were asked not to attend due to county physical distancing restrictions. The recordings are now available on the CSU Commencement page.
Multiple ways to celebrate
CSU’s commencement website highlights multiple ways Fall 2020 graduates can celebrate their momentous achievement as a Ram. Graduates will have access to create a virtual 2020 yearbook page, use the digital party pack, view the digital 2020 Commencement program and share Ram Grad celebrations on social media (#CSURamGrad2020).
The CSU Alumni Association also will be gifting all 2020 graduates with the first year of Alumni Association membership at no cost.
To view all of these, plus additional details visit the commencement website.
