WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.329 --> 00:00:01.329 Hi everyone. 00:00:01.329 --> 00:00:03.449 You may be wondering why I’m in the Rotunda, standing behind a podium. 00:00:03.449 --> 00:00:08.660 I had to record a speech for future use, and I thought, since we’re all here, I would 00:00:08.660 --> 00:00:13.820 send a brief message marking the occasion, offering you thanks, and looking ahead just 00:00:13.820 --> 00:00:14.820 a bit. 00:00:14.820 --> 00:00:17.760 I’d also like to share some good news for our faculty and staff.] 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:21.439 As you may know, today is the last day of the semester for undergraduates, which is 00:00:21.439 --> 00:00:22.779 always a day to celebrate. 00:00:22.779 --> 00:00:27.680 But this year, in particular, this moment is worth marking and celebrating, and I know 00:00:27.680 --> 00:00:32.400 of no better way to capture the moment than to quote the inimitable poet and philosopher 00:00:32.400 --> 00:00:35.790 Barry Manilow, who once said: “Looks like we made it.” 00:00:35.790 --> 00:00:37.430 At least to the end of classes. 00:00:37.430 --> 00:00:41.240 And we made it because of all of you. 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:45.970 So to our students, thank you for the sacrifices you’ve made this year to keep yourselves 00:00:45.970 --> 00:00:51.710 and our community safe; thank you for your generosity and kindness toward your classmates; 00:00:51.710 --> 00:00:56.200 thank you for following public health measures that, frankly, were not so fun; thank you 00:00:56.200 --> 00:01:01.480 for showing up for weekly saliva tests and for your many contributions to our wastewater 00:01:01.480 --> 00:01:02.480 testing program. 00:01:02.480 --> 00:01:03.480 (I’m kidding. 00:01:03.480 --> 00:01:05.940 I mean I am grateful, don’t get me wrong.) 00:01:05.940 --> 00:01:10.660 To our faculty, thank you for your dedication to teaching and research; thank you for the 00:01:10.660 --> 00:01:15.280 creativity you’ve brought to our classrooms, labs, and Zoom rooms to make the semester 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:21.060 possible; thank you, especially, for caring so much about our students, which was evident 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:25.010 in every single one of the many conversations I’ve had with faculty during the course 00:01:25.010 --> 00:01:26.160 of this year. 00:01:26.160 --> 00:01:32.490 To our staff, thank for your resilience, flexibility, and willingness to go above and beyond – many 00:01:32.490 --> 00:01:36.981 of you spending this year filling roles well beyond your regular job descriptions; thank 00:01:36.981 --> 00:01:42.040 you for working late nights, early mornings, and weekends; thank you for caring so much 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:46.409 about this place, about each other, and about our students; 00:01:46.409 --> 00:01:51.550 To all of our team members at UVA health, thank you for your heroic work in treating 00:01:51.550 --> 00:01:56.510 COVID patients and providing ongoing care for all of our patients in need, and in helping 00:01:56.510 --> 00:02:00.110 to mobilize a herculean vaccination effort. 00:02:00.110 --> 00:02:04.729 This is a year we will surely never forget, and we would never have made it to this point 00:02:04.729 --> 00:02:08.200 without the countless contributions of the entire community. 00:02:08.200 --> 00:02:13.770 It hasn’t been perfect, of course, but you should be justifiably proud of what you’ve 00:02:13.770 --> 00:02:14.770 accomplished. 00:02:14.770 --> 00:02:19.030 As challenging as this year has been, we now have a great deal to look forward to. 00:02:19.030 --> 00:02:24.930 Coming soon are Final Exercises, this year brought to you not once, not twice, but seven 00:02:24.930 --> 00:02:25.930 times! 00:02:25.930 --> 00:02:30.040 As you’ve probably heard, we’ll be hosting five final exercises ceremonies for the class 00:02:30.040 --> 00:02:34.590 of 2021 between May 21st and May 23rd. 00:02:34.590 --> 00:02:39.810 These will be Final Exercises like no other, combining traditional elements with brand 00:02:39.810 --> 00:02:44.790 new experiences: students will process down the Lawn and make their way to Scott Stadium 00:02:44.790 --> 00:02:50.460 for a ceremony that will include the traditional conferral of degrees, a keynote address, and 00:02:50.460 --> 00:02:51.690 several special surprises. 00:02:51.690 --> 00:02:57.880 We are also delighted to be able to celebrate the class of 2020 in two ceremonies on Sunday, 00:02:57.880 --> 00:02:58.880 May 16th. 00:02:58.880 --> 00:03:03.290 They, too, will be able to walk the Lawn and process to Scott Stadium for what will surely 00:03:03.290 --> 00:03:06.290 be a memorable and festive event. 00:03:06.290 --> 00:03:09.750 We cannot wait to celebrate both classes. 00:03:09.750 --> 00:03:10.750 Over and again. 00:03:10.750 --> 00:03:11.750 And again. 00:03:11.750 --> 00:03:13.550 And again and again and again and again! 00:03:13.550 --> 00:03:17.599 Imagine how good we are going to be by the 7th ceremony! 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:22.790 For our faculty and staff, as all of you will remember, the financial burdens associated 00:03:22.790 --> 00:03:26.610 with COVID forced us to enact a salary freeze last year. 00:03:26.610 --> 00:03:31.190 This was a tough thing to do, given how hard everyone was working—and has continued to 00:03:31.190 --> 00:03:32.190 work. 00:03:32.190 --> 00:03:35.790 That is why I am thrilled to let you know that we will be able to offer merit salary 00:03:35.790 --> 00:03:37.770 increases for this coming year. 00:03:37.770 --> 00:03:42.580 More details will be forthcoming, but I’m happy to be the bearer of this good news – especially 00:03:42.580 --> 00:03:47.590 in light of the incredible contributions our faculty and staff have made this year. 00:03:47.590 --> 00:03:51.750 Perhaps the best news of all is that, after over a year of enduring this pandemic, the 00:03:51.750 --> 00:03:55.489 light at the end of the tunnel is not just visible but palpable. 00:03:55.489 --> 00:04:00.690 At this point, we are optimistic about being able to have relatively normal fall—with 00:04:00.690 --> 00:04:06.030 residence halls filled, in-person classes, full access to research labs for students 00:04:06.030 --> 00:04:10.150 and faculty alike, and sporting events with fans in the stands. 00:04:10.150 --> 00:04:14.819 Of course, one thing we’ve learned many times by now is that COVID is capable of throwing 00:04:14.819 --> 00:04:18.840 curve balls, but we are all looking forward to getting back to normal, and we will keep 00:04:18.840 --> 00:04:22.770 you posted on our progress in the months ahead. 00:04:22.770 --> 00:04:28.070 A brief public service message here: Vaccines, as you know, are crucial to getting back to 00:04:28.070 --> 00:04:32.699 normal, and we are continuing to make excellent progress on vaccine distribution. 00:04:32.699 --> 00:04:37.999 At last report over 11,000 students are either fully vaccinated or have received at least 00:04:37.999 --> 00:04:39.490 one dose. 00:04:39.490 --> 00:04:43.930 Everyone 16 and older who lives in Virginia is now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, 00:04:43.930 --> 00:04:45.479 and the supplies are plentiful. 00:04:45.479 --> 00:04:49.599 If you are a student who was vaccinated somewhere other than UVA Health, please remember to 00:04:49.599 --> 00:04:52.990 upload your vaccine records through the Healthy Hoos portal. 00:04:52.990 --> 00:04:57.740 And if you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to sign up to get vaccinated right away. 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:02.650 The vaccines are our best weapon against COVID, and the sooner everyone in our community is 00:05:02.650 --> 00:05:04.869 vaccinated, the better. 00:05:04.869 --> 00:05:10.430 Let me close by saying this: What our community has done this year in the face of COVID has 00:05:10.430 --> 00:05:12.409 been nothing short of extraordinary. 00:05:12.409 --> 00:05:16.900 To our students, in particular, you should never forget that you did something this year 00:05:16.900 --> 00:05:18.750 that many said was impossible. 00:05:18.750 --> 00:05:24.069 They said you were too young, or too irresponsible, and some pointed out that the prefrontal cortex 00:05:24.069 --> 00:05:26.990 is usually not fully developed until you’re 25. 00:05:26.990 --> 00:05:28.689 Which is technically true. 00:05:28.689 --> 00:05:30.419 But that didn’t stop any of you. 00:05:30.419 --> 00:05:35.169 You made smart, responsible, and selfless decisions day in and day out, and you proved 00:05:35.169 --> 00:05:37.039 the naysayers wrong. 00:05:37.039 --> 00:05:40.910 Without those countless smart and selfless decisions, we would not be here. 00:05:40.910 --> 00:05:45.680 And for that you have not just my gratitude but my abiding admiration. 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:50.530 And I hope you tuck this experience away and pull it out whenever anyone doubts that you, 00:05:50.530 --> 00:05:55.409 individually or collectively, are capable of doing genuinely difficult things. 00:05:55.409 --> 00:06:00.620 To our entire community: I believe this year, even though we were physically distant for 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:05.710 most of it, taught us more deeply just what it means to be a part of a community—both 00:06:05.710 --> 00:06:07.210 the benefits and the obligations. 00:06:07.210 --> 00:06:12.930 It taught us first and foremost the importance of selflessness—of acting not solely to 00:06:12.930 --> 00:06:17.939 advance our own personal interests, but of acting to benefit and protect others in our 00:06:17.939 --> 00:06:18.939 community. 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:24.990 It is through this sort of selflessness, combined with daily acts of grace and compassion, that 00:06:24.990 --> 00:06:28.159 communities not only endure, but grow stronger. 00:06:28.159 --> 00:06:33.129 Let’s carry these lessons with us as we move forward as a community and return not 00:06:33.129 --> 00:06:36.930 simply to normal, but to an even brighter and better future. 00:06:36.930 --> 00:06:37.090 Thank you.