May 21, 2020

 

Dear UWLA Faculty, Graduates, and soon to be Graduates:

It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter. I had hoped that our community would be able to come together in celebration as we do each year to commemorate the life changing achievement of graduating from our School of Business or School of Law. Due to the attached revised order from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, issued on May 13, 2020, UWLA will not be permitted to conduct its graduation exercises as planned at the Wilshire Ebell on June 19, 2020.

This is only a postponement and not a cancellation. You have worked too hard and too long not to have your accomplishment honored by your loved ones and your extended UWLA family. UWLA is an institution that prides itself on the greatness of its graduates and their accomplishments rather than the greatness of ancient history or physical structures of bricks and mortar, as many other Universities do.

We will conduct a survey in the latter part of June to survey our graduates on how you would like to proceed and be honored.

Although UWLA is discussing options with many vendors and locations, we as an institution will not commit to any plan until we have your input, as this is "your'' day. We are researching options to present to you in the aforementioned survey. They include the possibility of a 2020 graduation as late as December that would be in person if legally permitted and morally sound. Alternatively, we could hold a virtual graduation or a concurrent graduation in person with the UWLA graduating class of 2021, if legally permitted and morally

sound at that time. We look forward to your input and feedback after we submit the survey to you. 

Please continue to be safe and watch out for each other. Make certain that you take the time to protect your mental health as well as your physical health. As always, please reach out to me if I can be of any assistance to you in these challenging times.

Sincerely,

Robert W. Brown

Presdient