Call to faculty and staff: Help us congratulate the Class of 2020!

As SUNY New Paltz prepares for its first-ever virtual Commencement Ceremony on May 22, 2020, we’re working to come up with as many ways as possible to connect with our graduates and make the experience special for them.

Many of the most impactful and lasting relationships students form during their time at college are with their professors, advisors, coaches, mentors and other staff.

At a typical May Commencement ceremony, hundreds of New Paltz employees don regalia and polo shirts and come out to cheer on the graduating class. We can’t do that in person this year, but we’d still like to give faculty and staff some ideas for how to send their best wishes to graduates.

It doesn’t take much: Just a short clip recorded on your phone to let your students know you’re thinking about them!

1. Record a video message!
   We’re preparing a tribute webpage for our 2020 graduates and candidates, and saving a place for faculty who might want to contribute a video message of their own. Click here to send us a short 5 to 10 second video clip from your phone, to be included in a compilation video for our students (Pro tip: Try holding your phone in landscape [horizontal] orientation to record the video!).
2. Post on social media!
   Most members of our campus community know that you can tag your posts on Instagram, Twitter and other platforms with #NPSocial, as a way of joining the conversation with other students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the College. We especially encourage faculty to share congratulatory messages on Friday, May 22, to celebrate the launch of our pre-recorded virtual Commencement ceremony.
3. Tune into the virtual Commencement!
   Of course, another great way to honor our students’ hard work and accomplishments is to join them for the event itself. The virtual Commencement will include a naming of the graduates and candidates, hundreds of whom have taken the time to upload a photo and a personal quote to their custom graduation slide. We’ll share a link to the videos on May 22, and they will remain on the website for about a year after that.

At a busy time of an already-overwhelming semester, we are grateful to any faculty and staff who are able to dedicate even just a few minutes to help create a meaningful experience for our graduates.

Please visit https://newpaltz.edu/commencement/ or contact us at commencement@newpaltz.edu for more information.