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FROM PRESIDENT LAURA CASAMENTO
Even in 2020, There’s Still Reason to Celebrate
I hope this issue of Utica Magazine finds you and your loved ones healthy and safe.
More than eight months into this unprecedented global crisis, it still seems surreal to begin this letter with an update on our COVID-19 positive test rate—a phrase that I, and probably you, had never once uttered before March 2020.
While news on this front is good (thanks to weekly testing, our positivity rate remains below 0.2 percent—well below the national average), I would much rather these concerns never had made their way onto our collective radar.
Like many of you, I feel deep sadness and disappointment for everything our students have missed out on during this crisis, not least of which is the 2020 Commencement Ceremony we had planned for May.
But, as you’ll see in these pages, there remains much to celebrate.
Our faculty and staff continue to do meaningful work both in the classroom and beyond. Our alumni, including the incredible Class of 2020, are achieving success in so many fields, including as frontline workers fighting COVID-19 and, quite literally, saving lives.
And most of all, our students, who have displayed remarkable strength, grace, and resilience, and continue to doggedly pursue their academic goals while navigating one of the most difficult periods in recent history.
As has been the case since March, we face myriad unknowns as a result of the pandemic. Until an effective vaccine has been developed and distributed, we can assume COVID-19 will continue to pose challenges, and Utica College will continue modify its plans and operations accordingly. (You can find more up-to-date information at utica.edu/covid-forward)
For now, I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the positive stories coming out of Utica College in these challenging times. Like never before, it’s clear to me—and, I hope, to you—that the Pioneer spirit is alive and well.
Sincerely,
Laura Casamento President
