Don’t Call It a Comeback
UR Nursing’s celebration of graduates has continued unabated during pandemic; School turns a corner in ’21, allowing students to attend Commencement in person Photos by John Schlia
In the midst of a pandemic, a few months can make a big difference. The UR School of Nursing held an online degree conferral ceremony in May 2020, then was able to host a physically distant pinning ceremony for grads in August. The school went virtual again for its pinning ceremony in December 2020, but welcomed students back to take part in a hybrid in-person Commencement ceremony in May 2021. Dealing with the ebbs and flows of COVID caseloads and the subsequent fluctuations in federal and state guidelines and mandates presented the school with a multitude of significant logistical challenges. What was possible one week, may be verboten the next. One thing that remained steady throughout the past year and a half was the school’s commitment to celebrating the success of its students. In December, amid tightening restrictions, the school held its first ever virtual pinning ceremony. Accelerated Bachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses graduates took part from their own homes, pinning themselves as their names were read over a Zoom call. Parents and friends were invited to watch from anywhere in the world. This past May, more than 160 students were honored at an in-person Commencement ceremony at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. The hybrid event was limited to graduating students and the platform party of faculty and staff,
but parents, friends, and colleagues were invited to watch a livestream of the event online. In keeping with COVID safety protocols, students and faculty were seated at least six feet apart, and all were required to accessorize their academic regalia with masks. Nearly 90 graduates attended in person and heard welcoming remarks from President Sarah Mangelsdorf and University of Rochester Medical Center CEO Mark B. Taubman, MD, as well as an address from School of Nursing Dean Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP. “I think it is very important for all of us to take the time to reflect on all that we have learned, all that we have accomplished,” said Rideout, whose Commencement remarks focused on silver linings and lessons learned during the pandemic. “As health care clinicians, researchers, educators and leaders of the present – and of the future – we can rise to the challenges in front of us and can do anything together.” In addition to presenting degrees to bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral students, the school also announced the winner of its annual Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching to Dee Dee Rutigliano, ’14N, ’18N (MS), an instructor of clinical nursing. On the following pages, you can read about a cross-section of graduates from the past six months.
The return of Commencement also marked the return of festively decorated mortarboards.
A sparsely filled Kodak Hall. The 2021 School of Nursing Commencement ceremony featured only the platform party and physically distant cohort of graduating students
28 NURSING 2021 Volume 1
