City of Crawfordsville Honors Class of 2020

While the 182nd Commencement will be virtual, the Wabash College Class of 2020 will graduate with a feather in its collective cap.

Mayor Todd Barton and the City of Crawfordsville have honored the 179 members of this year’s graduating class by proclaiming Sunday, May 17, 2020, as “Wabash College Class of 2020 Day.”

“We are grateful to Mayor Barton for declaring May 17 ‘Wabash College Class of 2020 Day’ here in the City of Crawfordsville,” said President Gregory D. Hess. “When I rang in the class four years ago, I told them that Wabash College will always be their home. In the same way, they will always have a personal connection to Crawfordsville. The Mayor’s proclamation celebrates our graduates and all they have meant to the College and our city.”

May 17 was to be the graduation date for Wabash’s Class of 2020, but that ceremony will now be completed virtually. It will be streamed live at www.wabash.edu/live beginning at 2:30 p.m. EDT.

“The Wabash College Class of 2020 is comprised of outstanding young men who have contributed to our community in many positive ways,” said Barton. “It was important to recognize, not only their accomplishments and contributions, but the perseverance and fortitude with which they faced the challenges of their final semester in the midst of a global pandemic.

“Like everyone else, I am saddened that they have had to forgo so many of the traditions associated with completing their senior year, but I continue to be inspired by the resiliency and class with which they have handled the situation,” he said.

The proclamation reads as follows:

WHEREAS, in 2016, Wabash College's Class of 2020 arrived in Crawfordsville, eager to learn and broaden the perspective from which they viewed the world. They quickly made Crawfordsville their adoptive, “second hometown” and have spent some of their most influential years in our beloved city, years that will shape the remainder of their lives; and

WHEREAS, Members of the Wabash College Class of 2020 have earned remarkable achievements as All­Americans, national champions, conference champions, Academic All-Americans, NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners, Fulbright Fellowship winners, and Orr Fellowship recipients; and

WHEREAS, Members of the Wabash College Class of 2020 have displayed many talents that greatly contributed to the arts in our community, as scene designers, directors, actors, sculptors, painters, film­makers, singers; and

WHEREAS, Many members of the Wabash College Class of 2020 contributed mightily to our community by facilitating Democracy and Public Discourse conversations, completing insightful Center for Innovation, Business and Entrepreneurship business assessments, lending of their time and talent to the Montgomery County Health Department and Mary Ludwig Free Clinic, performing thousands of hours of community service, and hosting the first-ever Taste of Wabash events to connect the campus to the community; and

WHEREAS, the Little Giants of the Wabash College Class of 2020 have further strengthened the bond between the Wabash College family and the greater Crawfordsville community through their service, volunteerism, and by leading lives exemplary of the mission to think critically, act responsibly, lead effectively, and live humanely during their time as Crawfordsville citizens; and

WHEREAS, members of the Wabash College Class of 2020 have persevered to complete their Wabash College education during the global COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis that denied them many of the rights of passage experienced by other Wabash graduating classes, proving Wabash Always Fights; and

WHEREAS, Wabash College will honor this outstanding group of young men before they move on to amazing careers, or to further their education, on Sunday, May 17, 2020, during the 182nd Commencement Ceremony.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED BY THE CITY OF CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN, that all citizens of the City of Crawfordsville are encouraged to recognize and honor the accomplishments of the Wabash College Class of 2020, and demonstrate gratitude for their many contributions to the Crawfordsville community.

BE IT FURTHER PROCLAIMED that I hereby declare that in the City of Crawfordsville, Sunday, May 17, 2020, shall be proudly observed and celebrated as WABASH COLLEGE CLASS OF 2020 DAY.

Wabash plans to hold an in-person Commencement honoring the Class of 2020, tentatively scheduled for Homecoming Weekend, Sunday, September 20, 2020, should conditions allow.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, Wabash transitioned to virtual classroom instruction by faculty to all students on March 16 and set this virtual Commencement in compliance with national and state restrictions on public gatherings.