While this year looked a little different than a traditional Fairfield Commencement, Sunday, May 17 ushered in a host of virtual celebrations — and special news for the Class of 2020.
Last Sunday kicked off with two video tributes — one to the bachelor's degree candidates of our undergraduate senior class, and one to our master’s, professional, and doctoral program graduates. Celebrating their achievements and remembering their time at Fairfield, the University was pleased to invite students to save the date of October 11, 2020 for an in-person fall Commencement ceremony. While further plans and details of the October 9 –11 weekend are still to come, we look forward to celebrating with our graduates on campus this fall.
The virtual celebrations did not end there. Streaming live from the Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola was a special Mass dedicated to our graduates, officiated by Fr. Thomas Fitzpatrick, S.J. With more than 600 viewers tuning in, Fr. Fitzpatrick prayed for blessings upon the Class of 2020 as they enter the world post-Fairfield. The Mass — along with other virtual celebration content — is available to view on the “” playlist of Fairfield’s YouTube channel.
Social media was all decked out in Fairfield red the entire weekend, with graduates, friends, families, and alumni taking part in special Fairfield-themed Class of 2020 Facebook profile image frames, tech wallpapers, Instagram story activities, and more. Our Fairfield community was so excited to celebrate the Class of 2020 that they generated more than 29,500 social media comments, shares, and tags in honor of the graduates. In fact, followers of ¶¶Òô»ÆƬapp on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram were among more than a million people who received photos and videos celebrating this year's graduates.
The Fairfield community offered words of encouragement and wisdom, not only on social media, but also on a special Class of 2020 , filled with congratulatory notes and messages from alumni, staff, families, and friends of our graduates. Wishing the seniors well as they transition to become alumni, the letters offered a warm welcome to the vibrant ¶¶Òô»ÆƬapp alumni community.
With a virtual celebration in the books for this year's more than 1,500 graduates — approximately 1,025 undergraduates and 484 graduate, professional, and doctoral students — the entire University community looks forward to celebrating with the Class of 2020 again — in person — in October.
For updates on all things Commencement, visit fairfield.edu/commencement.
