University of Virginia leaders welcomed students to virtual orientation with a simple message: unusual and challenging though it might be, we can’t wait to see you on Grounds, filling this place with life and energy again.

“Sending our students home in the spring was one of the hardest things we have ever had to do as a community,” Dean of Students Allen Groves said. “Our students are the beating heart of UVA, and looking around at the spaces on Grounds that were usually so filled with energy and life, and instead seeing emptiness, was heartbreaking.

“While we always look forward to welcoming our students to Grounds in the fall, this moment fells even more momentous. We are excited to welcome you, the Class of 2024, into the University of Virginia family.”

UVA President Jim Ryan, Provost Liz Magill and Director of Athletics Carla Williams also offered messages of welcome and support.

“This year will look and feel different than years in the past, it will require us to come together as community and to meet our challenges with imagination, compassion and determination,” Ryan said. “You are joining this community, this family, at a remarkably challenging time, but if the past is any indication, then I have every confidence that this year will lead us to be more creative, inspire us to be more selfless and in many ways bring us closer together than ever before. I can’t wait to see you on Grounds.”