When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the University of Virginia to send students home and later to cancel in-person Final Exercises last year, staff across the University began searching for new ways to safely celebrate the Class of 2020 and honor its accomplishments.
One of the results, a virtual commencement video, was nominated for an Emmy Award in the National Capital Chesapeake Bay chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. UVA was nominated in the “Education/Schools – Long-Form Content” category, ultimately won by television station WTKR for its piece, “The New Canaan Experiment: Teaching Tolerance.” The Emmy Award ceremony was held virtually Saturday night.
“I offer my heartiest congratulations to the talented team behind 2020’s virtual Final Exercises,” UVA President Jim Ryan said. “The Emmy nomination was well-deserved, and I deeply appreciate the hard work and creativity that was reflected in the final production. I know it meant a great deal to our graduating class and to our entire community.”
The virtual commencement, which was about 40 minutes long, included surprise appearances by Dave Matthews, who played a new song, “Singing From the Windows,” that hit home during the COVID-19 quarantine; and from cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who played “Appalachia Waltz” from his home as photos of the graduates rolled by on the screen.
