APRIL 2, 2020: Video Transcript
Interim President Laurie Quinn’s Message to Champlain College Online Students
Hello, Champlain College Online students, faculty, and staff, based here in Vermont, around the country, and around the world. I’m Interim President Laurie Quinn, and
I’m reaching out to you today to share some important updates, but I’d like to begin with my assurance to all of you that you have been very much in our thoughts here at Champlain College as you have navigated the Covid-19 crisis from wherever you are.
I’m very moved by our students’ continued commitment to their Champlain College Online education. I’m proud of you for keeping your goals in sight as you continue to work through your courses, even with everything that these unprecedented times are throwing at us as individuals, in our families in our workplaces, our communities, and our nation. So you have been often in our thoughts.
I’m grateful to the Champlain College Online faculty members who have continued to stay fully engaged in their courses, mentor their students, be there with the best possible Champlain College online education. Thank you to Champlain College Online faculty for your continued commitment.
All of us in the Champlain College community have been looking forward to our Commencement ceremonies this spring, and particularly we have looked forward to the opportunity to welcome Champlain College Online graduates to Vermont, where we could celebrate with you this incredibly important milestone. And so I’m sad to tell you today that given the State and national public health guidance, we have come to the difficult decision that we will not be holding an in-person Commencement ceremony this spring.
We are very committed to an excellent virtual ceremony, but we understand that that will never substitute for the opportunity to mark the milestone of your degree in person, and for this we have deep regret that this decision has been necessary. We want to assure you that the celebrations will continue virtually and we’ll be sending you more information about that in the very near future. We also want you to know that we will welcome you back to Vermont at the earliest possible opportunity should you want to visit and mark this milestone in person with your fellow graduates.
We know that for many of you the Champlain College Online Commencement is the first time you come to the Champlain College campus. It’s a day of great celebration for all of us and we love nothing more than to be able to congratulate you in person. Right now, we are actively working on how we will pack all of that celebration and good wishes into a virtual ceremony, and how together we can look ahead to a chance in the future when the public health crisis has faded for us to celebrate together in the in person, Vermont-based way that has become our tradition.
In the meantime, I wish you and all of your loved ones continued health, and I hope that you will continue to keep your eyes on the long-term prize of your Champlain College Online degree and the goals that you have so diligently worked toward. Thank you, and all the best to you and yours.
