I wanted to write you with an update on Commencement activities on May 7th. Our R.s.v.p. survey of the Classes of 2020 and 2021 has led us to move from hosting three Commencement ceremonies to hosting only two. (Originally we were planning three ceremonies in the morning, afternoon, and evening.)
Thus on May 7th, we will host two ceremonies, one at 10:00 a.m. central time and the other at 2:00 p.m. central time:
The first ceremony, which will be held at 10:00 a.m. central time, will be for the bachelor’s degree recipients of the Class of 2021.
The second ceremony, which will be held at 2:00 p.m. central time, will be for (1) the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degree recipients of the Class of 2020 as well as (2) the associate’s and master’s degree recipients of the Class of 2021.
Owing to physical distancing requirements surrounding COVID-19, seating will be unavailable for unticketed guests. Both Commencement ceremonies will be live-streamed for individuals to view. Welch students are invited to view the live-stream on their own devices and then congratulate graduates after both ceremonies.
We will host a virtual awards ceremony for the Class of 2021 and current Welch students on Thursday, May 6th, at 10:00 a.m. central time. Details about how to watch this ceremony will be sent soon.
Because of the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, there will be no graduate breakfast or Baccalaureate service. There will also be no separate hooding ceremony for master’s degree recipients.
Further details about other Commencement-related activities will be communicated in the near future. For more information, please email Whitney Lute in the Provost’s Office (wlute@welch.edu).
I want to thank you for your patience with us as we navigate these situations in a difficult set of circumstances owing to COVID-19. We look forward to celebrating with you this momentous occasion in your journey. We have been praying for you and are excited about what God is already doing and is going to do through you for His kingdom.
These have been challenging times for all of us as we have coped with a global pandemic that had farther-reaching consequences than I ever imagined it would have. Our community has been resilient, however, and has navigated these troubled waters with prudence and with grace.
I was so saddened to have to announce to the Class of 2020 last year that we would have to cancel their normal 2020 Commencement activities. After meeting with the executive council of the Senior Class, we decided that the best way forward was to have Commencement exercises for the Class of 2020 at the same time as that of the Class of 2021.
While there are still many details to be finalized, and while anything could change given the current unpredictable situation with COVID-19, I wanted to announce the date of the Commencement exercises for both the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021 so that students and their guests could mark it on their calendars and make travel plans.
All Commencement activities for both classes will take place on Friday, May 7th. The times, locations, and details of the gatherings will be forthcoming. Guest seating will be limited owing to COVID-19 and the need for physically distanced seating. Thus a limited number of free tickets will be provided to each graduate for his or her family and friends.
Neither the graduate breakfast nor a Baccalaureate service will be held. An awards ceremony for the Class of 2021 will be held virtually, similar to what we held last year for the Class of 2020. Also forthcoming will be details regarding hooding for master’s degree recipients.
More details will follow as we finalize them. Thank you for your patience as we work through what will be a very different celebration in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. And continue to pray for us here at Welch as we continue to make key decisions and fulfill our mission in these difficult times.
I just completed a conference call with Vice President Mike Pence; Dr. Deborah Birx, the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force; and many other college and university presidents. Others who took part in the discussion included Dr. Scott Atlas, President Trump’s new Coronavirus advisor; Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota; and Dr. John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame.
I am happy to tell you that, according to the recommendations these leaders reinforced on the call, we are doing very well on the Welch College campus, not only in the rate of people who have tested positively for the Coronavirus or are in quarantine, but also in following the best practices recommended by the White House and the CDC. This is because of the efforts you are making to follow Welch’s guidelines, and I cannot thank you enough!
One of the things they emphasized on the call, which they said many had not previously understood, is this: In addition to physical distancing and the wearing of face coverings, it is vital that as many as possible students be kept on campus whether they have symptoms or not, and it is important that colleges and universities do everything in their power to keep students as close to campus as possible.
Having travel policies and other policies that make this a reality will keep down the incidence of the disease on campus, because students will not bring the disease back to campus from across the United States. However, such policies will also keep COVID-19 from going back into households and communities, thus mitigating the spread of the disease. Vice President Pence and Dr. Birx reiterated this over and over again.
They stressed the avoidance of what they called “crowding.” Avoiding crowding, maintaining a physical distance of six feet, and wearing a face covering are imperative. Also, they highly recommended that we encourage everyone to get a flu vaccine.
The incidence of the Coronavirus among adults under 25 is on the rise. Even though the health risks are lesser for this population, the risk of this age group’s infecting people in the cross-generational population who are at greater risk is growing, they said. Dr. Birx reiterated repeatedly how important it is to understand that many young people who have no symptoms still have the disease and are passing it on to others.
So I want to congratulate you for doing the very best you can to continue to maintain six-foot physical distancing, to wear your face coverings, even when you are in the dorms and in other people’s rooms, to stay in the Gallatin area, and to fill out the form on the Ascend app each morning.
I also want to thank the Mr. Mahler, Coach Fawbush, and Dr. McAffee, as well as the members of the Special Committee on the Coronavirus, for having already put into effect a plan that precisely mirrors what we were advised on today’s conference call.
Thank you for all you are doing, Welch family! If we can keep this up, we feel confident we can make it to Thanksgiving!
Welch College has announced an adjustment to the athletic department for 2020-2021, according to Greg Fawbush, Welch Athletic Director. “College athletics has been deeply affected by COVID-19,” Fawbush said, “and Welch is having to make changes to accommodate the global pandemic.”
Among the changes Fawbush outlined, women’s volleyball will play a hybrid season, eleven games in the fall starting September 28 and ending November 7, followed by ten more games during March and April of 2021, for a total of twenty-one matches over the course of the year. Men’s and women’s soccer will play in the spring of 2021 for this season only. Cross country’s schedule will remain in the fall. Fawbush stated that he expects men’s and women’s basketball teams to play their games starting in November and ending in late February.
Fawbush said, “Several factors contributed to these difficult decisions, including the recent rise in positive COVID-19 cases through the south’s geographical footprint, the safety of student-athletes, and the inability to maintain a full schedule due to cancellations.” He went on to add, “By carefully realigning when our teams play, we can better realize our overall goal of keeping our athletes healthy while also still participating in athletic competition.”
For more information on athletics at Welch, email Coach Fawbush at gfawbush@welch.edu.
It is with a heavy heart that I write and tell you that we are forced to cancel our planned Commencement ceremony for the class of 2020. Earlier this year, before the second wave of COVID-19 that swept the country, we had every expectation that we could provide a safe, physically distanced Commencement ceremony for you and your family. However, with recent developments, it has become impossible for us to go through with those plans.
Our reasons for cancelling the ceremony include, but aren’t limited to, the fact that the Governor of the State of Tennessee has issued an order that keeps us from having indoor gatherings on campus of more than 50 people. This means that we couldn’t even accommodate the Class of 2020 and the administration of the college in the ceremony. Thus none of your family could attend, which defeats the entire purpose of having a special ceremony. We deemed it far too risky to host an outdoor ceremony, only for you and your guests to travel here and it rain that day, with no ability to move the ceremony indoors. Furthermore, many of the states from which our graduates would have been traveling have orders that require lengthy quarantining after returning from Tennessee.
Many other considerations went into the difficult decision to cancel this special ceremony we had hoped and planned to have for you. I want you to know how deeply we regret that we could not follow through with our plans. You mean so much to us, and we celebrate with you upon the occasion of your graduation from Welch College. We will be shipping your diploma and (where applicable) your cap and gown.
We look forward to great things from you as you serve Christ, His church, and His world. We hope you will keep in touch with us and come back to visit your alma mater very soon.
Welch College has scheduled a special Commencement ceremony to be held during the Fall 2020 semester on Saturday, September 19, according to Provost Matthew McAffee. Owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, the college was unable to hold its May Commencement exercises for the 2019–20 academic year. A virtual awards ceremony was held directly following the spring semester to honor 2020 graduates publicly, as well as outstanding continuing students.
The focus of this special commencement ceremony will be the conferral of degrees. “Our 2019–20 graduates have worked hard against unprecedented odds to complete the requirements for their degrees,” McAffee said. “We look forward to being able to award these degrees to a special group of graduates in the history of Welch College.”
In addition to conferring degrees, the special ceremony will also include the hooding of graduates receiving one of Welch’s two master’s degrees (Master of Arts in Theology and Ministry and Master of Arts in Teaching). The first group of Master of Arts in Teaching recipients will have completed their program in time to participate in the special ceremony. The graduate hooding ceremony is usually held as a separate event but will be combined with the main ceremony for the convenience of graduates and guests traveling longer distances to attend.
The Saturday Commencement ceremony will also coincide with the spring 2020 musical, which was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns. Three showings are tentatively scheduled: Friday evening (September 18), Saturday evening (September 19), and Sunday matinee (September 20).
More details regarding the logistics of these events are forthcoming. In light of the Coronavirus pandemic, college officials are continuing to monitor federal and state recommendations for public gatherings and will make adjustments to these plans as necessary.
