by Kathryn Farris & Hannah Cron | May 9, 2021 | News, News Slider
This year’s commencement, flavored by COVID-19 precautions, marked not only the graduation of Lipscomb’s class of 2021 but also one of President Randolph Lowry’s final major events as president of the university. Lowry announced earlier this year that this summer he will begin transitioning to the role of chancellor. While an in-person graduation was able to happen for the first time since December 2019, several changes were made to ensure the proceedings were COVID-safe. All 2020 graduation ceremonies were done remotely because of the pandemic. Rather than having one large ceremony as was usual in the pre-COVID days, graduates were divided by college across four separate ceremonies on Friday and Saturday (May 7-8). Masks were worn during each ceremony, and all graduates were seated several feet apart to allow for social distancing. “Resilience” of the Lipscomb community throughout the past year was a consistent theme in the ceremonies. In his final speech in the role, Lowry thanked the students for their commitment to Lipscomb. “I was thinking in this COVID world, in this particular moment, what is it that I as the president would suggest you take with you? I want to suggest just one thing: I hope from this experience at Lipscomb University you take a sense of character,” said Lowry. “I thought if there was any group of students around that will come back, will come to this institution and follow the protocol, will understand why we are trying to be respectful of everyone — it was Lipscomb students, because you have character.” President Lowry also reflected upon his shared experience with the graduates. “I feel a...
