1 00:00:00,329 --> 00:00:01,329 Hi everyone. 2 00:00:01,329 --> 00:00:03,449 You may be wondering why I’m in the Rotunda, standing behind a podium. 3 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 4 00:00:08,660 --> 00:00:13,820 send a brief message marking the occasion, offering you thanks, and looking ahead just 5 00:00:13,820 --> 00:00:14,820 a bit. 6 00:00:14,820 --> 00:00:17,760 I’d also like to share some good news for our faculty and staff.] 7 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,439 As you may know, today is the last day of the semester for undergraduates, which is 8 00:00:21,439 --> 00:00:22,779 always a day to celebrate. 9 00:00:22,779 --> 00:00:27,680 But this year, in particular, this moment is worth marking and celebrating, and I know 10 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:32,400 of no better way to capture the moment than to quote the inimitable poet and philosopher 11 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,790 Barry Manilow, who once said: “Looks like we made it.” 12 00:00:35,790 --> 00:00:37,430 At least to the end of classes. 13 00:00:37,430 --> 00:00:41,240 And we made it because of all of you. 14 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 15 00:00:45,970 --> 00:00:51,710 and our community safe; thank you for your generosity and kindness toward your classmates; 16 00:00:51,710 --> 00:00:56,200 thank you for following public health measures that, frankly, were not so fun; thank you 17 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:01,480 for showing up for weekly saliva tests and for your many contributions to our wastewater 18 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:02,480 testing program. 19 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:03,480 (I’m kidding. 20 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:05,940 I mean I am grateful, don’t get me wrong.) 21 00:01:05,940 --> 00:01:10,660 To our faculty, thank you for your dedication to teaching and research; thank you for the 22 00:01:10,660 --> 00:01:15,280 creativity you’ve brought to our classrooms, labs, and Zoom rooms to make the semester 23 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:21,060 possible; thank you, especially, for caring so much about our students, which was evident 24 00:01:21,060 --> 00:01:25,010 in every single one of the many conversations I’ve had with faculty during the course 25 00:01:25,010 --> 00:01:26,160 of this year. 26 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:32,490 To our staff, thank for your resilience, flexibility, and willingness to go above and beyond – many 27 00:01:32,490 --> 00:01:36,981 of you spending this year filling roles well beyond your regular job descriptions; thank 28 00:01:36,981 --> 00:01:42,040 you for working late nights, early mornings, and weekends; thank you for caring so much 29 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,409 about this place, about each other, and about our students; 30 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 31 00:01:51,550 --> 00:01:56,510 COVID patients and providing ongoing care for all of our patients in need, and in helping 32 00:01:56,510 --> 00:02:00,110 to mobilize a herculean vaccination effort. 33 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 34 00:02:04,729 --> 00:02:08,200 without the countless contributions of the entire community. 35 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 36 00:02:13,770 --> 00:02:14,770 accomplished. 37 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. 38 00:02:19,030 --> 00:02:24,930 Coming soon are Final Exercises, this year brought to you not once, not twice, but seven 39 00:02:24,930 --> 00:02:25,930 times! 40 00:02:25,930 --> 00:02:30,040 As you’ve probably heard, we’ll be hosting five final exercises ceremonies for the class 41 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:34,590 of 2021 between May 21st and May 23rd. 42 00:02:34,590 --> 00:02:39,810 These will be Final Exercises like no other, combining traditional elements with brand 43 00:02:39,810 --> 00:02:44,790 new experiences: students will process down the Lawn and make their way to Scott Stadium 44 00:02:44,790 --> 00:02:50,460 for a ceremony that will include the traditional conferral of degrees, a keynote address, and 45 00:02:50,460 --> 00:02:51,690 several special surprises. 46 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, 47 00:02:57,880 --> 00:02:58,880 May 16th. 48 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 49 00:03:03,290 --> 00:03:06,290 be a memorable and festive event. 50 00:03:06,290 --> 00:03:09,750 We cannot wait to celebrate both classes. 51 00:03:09,750 --> 00:03:10,750 Over and again. 52 00:03:10,750 --> 00:03:11,750 And again. 53 00:03:11,750 --> 00:03:13,550 And again and again and again and again! 54 00:03:13,550 --> 00:03:17,599 Imagine how good we are going to be by the 7th ceremony! 55 00:03:17,599 --> 00:03:22,790 For our faculty and staff, as all of you will remember, the financial burdens associated 56 00:03:22,790 --> 00:03:26,610 with COVID forced us to enact a salary freeze last year. 57 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 58 00:03:31,190 --> 00:03:32,190 work. 59 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 60 00:03:35,790 --> 00:03:37,770 increases for this coming year. 61 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 62 00:03:42,580 --> 00:03:47,590 in light of the incredible contributions our faculty and staff have made this year. 63 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 64 00:03:51,750 --> 00:03:55,489 light at the end of the tunnel is not just visible but palpable. 65 00:03:55,489 --> 00:04:00,690 At this point, we are optimistic about being able to have relatively normal fall—with 66 00:04:00,690 --> 00:04:06,030 residence halls filled, in-person classes, full access to research labs for students 67 00:04:06,030 --> 00:04:10,150 and faculty alike, and sporting events with fans in the stands. 68 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 69 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 70 00:04:18,840 --> 00:04:22,770 you posted on our progress in the months ahead. 71 00:04:22,770 --> 00:04:28,070 A brief public service message here: Vaccines, as you know, are crucial to getting back to 72 00:04:28,070 --> 00:04:32,699 normal, and we are continuing to make excellent progress on vaccine distribution. 73 00:04:32,699 --> 00:04:37,999 At last report over 11,000 students are either fully vaccinated or have received at least 74 00:04:37,999 --> 00:04:39,490 one dose. 75 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, 76 00:04:43,930 --> 00:04:45,479 and the supplies are plentiful. 77 00:04:45,479 --> 00:04:49,599 If you are a student who was vaccinated somewhere other than UVA Health, please remember to 78 00:04:49,599 --> 00:04:52,990 upload your vaccine records through the Healthy Hoos portal. 79 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. 80 00:04:57,740 --> 00:05:02,650 The vaccines are our best weapon against COVID, and the sooner everyone in our community is 81 00:05:02,650 --> 00:05:04,869 vaccinated, the better. 82 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 83 00:05:10,430 --> 00:05:12,409 been nothing short of extraordinary. 84 00:05:12,409 --> 00:05:16,900 To our students, in particular, you should never forget that you did something this year 85 00:05:16,900 --> 00:05:18,750 that many said was impossible. 86 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 87 00:05:24,069 --> 00:05:26,990 is usually not fully developed until you’re 25. 88 00:05:26,990 --> 00:05:28,689 Which is technically true. 89 00:05:28,689 --> 00:05:30,419 But that didn’t stop any of you. 90 00:05:30,419 --> 00:05:35,169 You made smart, responsible, and selfless decisions day in and day out, and you proved 91 00:05:35,169 --> 00:05:37,039 the naysayers wrong. 92 00:05:37,039 --> 00:05:40,910 Without those countless smart and selfless decisions, we would not be here. 93 00:05:40,910 --> 00:05:45,680 And for that you have not just my gratitude but my abiding admiration. 94 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, 95 00:05:50,530 --> 00:05:55,409 individually or collectively, are capable of doing genuinely difficult things. 96 00:05:55,409 --> 00:06:00,620 To our entire community: I believe this year, even though we were physically distant for 97 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 98 00:06:05,710 --> 00:06:07,210 the benefits and the obligations. 99 00:06:07,210 --> 00:06:12,930 It taught us first and foremost the importance of selflessness—of acting not solely to 100 00:06:12,930 --> 00:06:17,939 advance our own personal interests, but of acting to benefit and protect others in our 101 00:06:17,939 --> 00:06:18,939 community. 102 00:06:18,939 --> 00:06:24,990 It is through this sort of selflessness, combined with daily acts of grace and compassion, that 103 00:06:24,990 --> 00:06:28,159 communities not only endure, but grow stronger. 104 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 105 00:06:33,129 --> 00:06:36,930 simply to normal, but to an even brighter and better future. 106 00:06:36,930 --> 00:06:37,090 Thank you.