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As the end of fall semester approaches, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and celebrate the perseverance that you’ve shown in making it through what has been a uniquely challenging and unprecedented semester.

The Graduate School is here for you, and we continue to advocate for you in many ways – with the university leadership and beyond campus.

As you move forward with your graduate careers, I want to make sure your experience is as academically successful and personally enriching as possible.

Thank you to all who expressed your concerns about the July 6 SEVP guidance for fall 2020, which we are happy to say was rescinded on July 14.

I believe that education has always been one of the world’s great equalizers; and, as a community of scholars, artists and researchers, it is our duty to provide expanded opportunities to the Black community and other communities of color in order to build a more just and equitable society.

I want to take this opportunity to personally congratulate all of our professional, master’s and doctoral students receiving degrees.

Even though we are not together, we remain a strong community.

We understand that this situation has created a great deal of uncertainty and that questions continue to arise. I want to assure you that university leaders are working with the Graduate School to consider graduate students’ needs and concerns as we navigate these unprecedented circumstances.

Due to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Graduate School is adjusting the summer 2020 registration requirement for eligible students who were initially planning to graduate in spring 2020 and now need extra time to defend their dissertations and take their final examinations.

As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to evolve, I am writing to assure you that the Graduate School is here to offer you information, guidance, and support.