Ofelia Jianu, Mary Jo Haddad, Robert Gordon, Alice MillerThe show must go on: Beadle Ofelia Jianu leads chancellor Mary Jo Haddad, president Robert Gordon, and registrar Alice Miller in a convocation procession through the heart of the UWindsor campus.

Pandemic powerless to prevent pomp and pride

The University of Windsor’s 114th Convocation will feature pomp in unprecedented circumstances, says registrar Alice Miller.

After pandemic restrictions made it necessary to cancel the spring celebration, organizers prepared for a double cohort to participate in the first-ever virtual celebration of graduation.

“This year, as a result of COVID-19, our celebratory approach had to turn to cyberspace,” Miller says. “Our goal has been to update our long-standing traditions in a way that ensures the safety of our honoured grads and their families and guests.”

Almost 4,800 eligible graduands each received an emailed invitation to create a personalized slide that will be shown when their name is read during one of the 13 sessions that will be live-streamed Oct. 14 to 17.

Chancellor Mary Jo Haddad, president Robert Gordon, academic deans, and student leaders have been preparing messages to share as the Class of 2020 joins an alumni family of more than 145,000 around the world.

Knowing how important it is for faculty and staff to share in this celebration, Miller invites the campus community to join in celebrating the graduating class of 2020. Find a list of sessions and links to the live streams at convocation.uwindsor.ca.

Can’t make the scheduled time? No worries: the webcasts will be housed on the UWindsor website for viewing any time.