Dear members of the Brock Class of 2020:

You are the Brock University Class of 2020, and throughout the years you have pursued your educational goals. Brock faculty and staff have been honoured to support you in your achievements.

At the beginning of the academic year, no one could have anticipated the developments associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to thank each of you for the adjustments you have made and steps you have taken to ensure the completion of your academic programs, all while respecting the directives of public health. You can all be proud of these accomplishments.

Your class was scheduled to graduate at the Spring 2020 Convocation ceremonies this June, however as we know, official public health directives prohibit the University from hosting such a large gathering. I know that each student wants to ensure our actions support the health and wellness of you, your family members and the community.

For this reason, it is with deep regret that Brock University must make significant changes to Convocation by moving to a new format.

For all of our spring graduands, please be assured that you will have your degree conferred and you will receive your parchment according to the timeline originally scheduled.

Instead of an in-person Convocation ceremony, the University is establishing an alternative format for celebrating and recognizing your academic success. We will be communicating those details as they are confirmed.

We arrive at this decision with great reluctance.

We are acutely aware of how special graduation day is in the lives of you and your families and friends, who have sacrificed so much and worked so hard to earn the right to walk across the stage. However, we could never put the lives of you and your families at risk. Out of concern for you and for the entire community, this option was simply unavoidable.

Depending on public health guidelines at the time and understanding that the primary need is to ensure health and well-being, the University will work on options for spring graduands to be recognized or to participate at future ceremonies.

Looking ahead, there remains great uncertainty about when we will be able to gather in large groups. Much depends on how we do in following the current recommendations around physical distancing and staying home.

The pandemic continues to force us all to make difficult concessions in our lives in order to safeguard ourselves, our families and our community. But we must always remember that protecting people’s safety and health is unquestionably the most important thing we must do during these times.

The Brock community has been remarkably strong and united during this time. We thank you for your continued support and for your ongoing commitment to our University.

I look forward to communicating again with you soon. In the meantime, please take care of yourselves, stay safe, and stay informed by checking for regular updates being posted to brocku.ca/coronavirus

Thank you, and stay well.

Sincerely,

Gervan Fearon

President and Vice-Chancellor