Fall 2020 Graduates were celebrated in a virtual ceremony on Friday, December 11th, incorporating many traditional customs associated with the usual on-campus commencement exercises including the opening processional to “Pomp and Circumstance,” the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, the official conferring of graduate and undergraduate academic degrees, and the turning of tassels on the graduates’ caps.

The decision to hold a virtual ceremony is in line with a directive from the State University System of Florida to develop alternative commencement plans in recognition of health guidelines that limit gatherings.

Sharon Nicholson, a Professor of Meteorology with the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, will deliver the commencement address. Last spring, she was recognized by FSU faculty members as the 2020-2021 Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor, the highest honor they bestow upon one of their own. Nicholson, one of the world’s top climatologists, researches dry climates, particularly in Africa, where she has changed the understanding of drought and rainfall. Her work has debunked previous explanations of the expansion of deserts on the continent.

FSU Fall 2020 Commencement

FSU College of Social Work graduation