If you test positive for COVID-19, Dear Graduating Students,
During your studies at Yale, you have explored the human condition, our natural world, and the environments we have shaped through social and technological advancements. You have contributed new ideas and solutions for local, national, and global challenges. You have made personal discoveries, performed countless hours of service to help others, and persevered through trials big and small. When we began this semester, you and I fully expected to gather with your loved ones, professors, and friends in May to celebrate all that you have achieved.
I know you have been following the news around the world closely. To continue to do our part to end the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot come together in May to commemorate commencement activities in the traditional ways. However, know that we will be welcoming you back to campus to celebrate your achievements when this crisis is behind us. In the meantime, we will find alternative ways to honor your hard work this May. Secretary and Vice President for University Life Kimberly Goff-Crews will write to you in the coming days to share more planning details.
We have an obligation that extends well beyond our campus community. However, even though we know this is what we must do, this news is no less disappointing. The expectations we had for spring have unraveled, but recent events remind us of the ways we are connected and that there come extraordinary times when we are impelled to take care of one another in a basic and profound way. The pandemic calls on each of us to think beyond our own expectations—and to look forward to brighter days to come, together. Thank you for your understanding and for all you are doing to fulfill our responsibilities to the common good.
Sincerely,
Peter Salovey
President
Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology