Colleges and universities across the country are holding graduations at this time. Arguably, this is the most special year for graduations in decades due to the pandemic. Students, administrators, staff, and faculty made these graduations possible through hard work, flexibility, and perseverance.

The first human cases of COVID-19 were identified in December 2019. WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic March 2020. School administrators during the past two years met this extraordinary challenge by making difficult decisions focused on helping students complete their degrees. This student centric focus proved to be successful.

Administrators ordered all on campus classes suspended during the height of the pandemic. Classes shifted to online education. This presented a major task for students and faculty. The vast majority of students and faculty did not have experience with online learning. Students had it more difficult than faculty as they had to learn several learning modalities because all professors did not use the same learning platform.

Staff worked diligently to prepare a safe environment in all the buildings on campus. This made it possible for classes to resume on-campus classes.

Congratulations are in order to all students, administrators, staff, and faculty.

C. Kevin Synnott

Dept. of Business Administration, Management and Marketing

Eastern Connecticut State University

Willimantic