Dear Members of the Class of 2020:

I hope you are safe and well wherever life has taken you over the past few months, and I hope you fondly remember your time at Brown. I am writing to provide an update on plans to celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of the Class of 2020.

As you know, even as we held a virtual degree conferral for your class amid the pandemic last spring, it was our hope that we would be able to jointly honor the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021 during Commencement and Reunion Weekend this year. This planning assumed that public health conditions would allow for large events to safely take place. While we are seeing encouraging national reports about vaccine development, the coronavirus continues to pose a risk to public health and safety. Unfortunately, positivity rates across the state of Rhode Island and across our country remain high. There are concerning reports about a new more transmissible variant of the virus, and widespread vaccine distribution is taking longer than we would like.

After careful consideration of these circumstances, we have made the difficult decision that it is not feasible or safe to bring the Class of 2020 together in-person, and all alumni reunions for 2021 will be virtual events. Alumni Relations will be working with your class leaders to determine how best to honor your achievements – perhaps through a mix of virtual engagement this year and in-person celebrations in the 2021-22 academic year. More information from Alumni Relations will follow in the coming weeks, inviting members of the Class of 2020 to help shape this planning directly.

I am so sorry to be writing with such disappointing news, especially as the final months at Brown for the Class of 2020 were anything but normal. Commencement and Reunion Weekend is a proud part of the Brown tradition. While I’m saddened that your class will not have the same experience as many Brown graduates before you, I hope you take solace in knowing that you will have opportunities to participate in this treasured ritual for many years to come.

My hope is that when we are able to gather together in-person to honor your achievements, we will do so with a spirit of resilience, more enthusiastic than ever to celebrate each other and reconnect with those we have missed. I look forward to welcoming you back to campus as soon as it’s safe to do so.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson
President