“Dear Seniors:
Lobie and I, and all of us on campus, have had you in our minds and hearts these last few days. Among the many inconveniences and injustices that COVID-19 has caused, stealing your senior-year spring is among the saddest. We miss all of our students, but most especially miss celebrating this spring with you. We know that you understand that we have been trying to anticipate and prepare for the many disruptions that the COVID-19 crisis has brought to us, and we greatly appreciate that understanding. Among the many things on your minds, and on ours, is Commencement.
We are committed to holding in person, on campus Commencement ceremony at some point this year — but given the directives currently in place and the fluidity of the situation, that ceremony will not take place on May 17. We struggled mightily to find some way that Commencement could proceed as scheduled, but events and concern for everyone’s well-being makes that impossible.
Nothing — nothing — can diminish your achievement, or our pride in you. In the years to come, the disappointment will fade and the pride will only grow. We will all move through this period together, as Proud, Noble, Fighting Scots!
With gratitude and affection from the faculty and staff, Lobie, and me,
— Clarence
Monmouth College President Clarence R. Wyatt
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“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that our Spring 2020 Commencement ceremonies will not take place May 8-10 based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to cancel or postpone all large gatherings. Diplomas will be mailed following the close of the semester, and we are looking at possible alternatives for recognitions of your accomplishments. Graduates will have an opportunity to participate in a formal ceremony at a later date. It will take some time to review these options, but we want to do our best to honor our students’ achievements in some way. We value our students and their families, and it is our wish to honor the work our students have done to get to this culminating point of their academic career.
We will be in touch with details as they are finalized. Thank you for carrying on in true Leatherneck fashion.”
Sincerely,
Martin Abraham
Interim President
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“Dear Sandburg community,
The past week has been one of the most challenging in the history of Carl Sandburg College, and the decisions made during this time of the coronavirus pandemic have been made with great care and consideration for our students, faculty, staff and community.
In addition to moving classes and College services to an online capacity for the remainder of the spring semester, we have made the difficult choice to cancel this year’s on-campus Commencement ceremonies. Pinning ceremonies for this year’s nursing program graduates and all other on-campus events through the remainder of the semester also have been canceled. We know this is a disappointing moment for all of our students who planned to walk across the stage this spring as Carl Sandburg College graduates, and it is a moment nobody deserves to have denied from them. It is a painful choice for us as well, as our mission is geared toward seeing students achieve that ultimate goal of becoming a Sandburg graduate.
It is our plan to give our newest graduates their due recognition in some capacity at the end of the semester. Details will be shared as that information is finalized.”
Carl Sandburg College President, Dr. Seamus Reilly
