More Than 700 Graduating Eagles Unite Online for Virtual Celebration

Spring commencement season is here and, although in-person ceremonies across the globe could not take place as planned due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University community has come together online to share, in spirit, the success of all 754 Eagles graduating in its Daytona Beach Campus spring Class of 2020.

“The 2020 graduates of Embry-Riddle have made history – in a way none of us could have expected,” said Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler, Ph.D. “Their focus and resilience convinces me that they will succeed in the face of any professional and personal challenges they face in the future.”  

Congratulatory messages from faculty and staff are collected on a Virtual Celebration Page, where downloadable images are also available for students to use as backdrops in celebratory photos. (When sharing posts on social media, students have been asked to use the #ERAU2020Grad hashtag to share their achievement with the community.) Additionally, graduation packets were mailed to every graduate, along with instructions to wait for graduation day to open them, sharing the moment with their classmates virtually.

Daytona Beach Campus

A total of 754 students, representing the colleges of Aviation, Arts & Sciences, Engineering and the David B. O’Maley College of Business, make up the spring Class of 2020 at the Daytona Beach Campus.

Of that group, 638 students are completing undergraduate programs, while 104 students will earn master’s degrees. Twelve doctoral students — including six in Embry-Riddle’s Ph.D. in Aviation program — also celebrate the earning of their diplomas this month.

Additionally, the Daytona Beach Campus ROTC celebrates 88 military commissions: Twenty-six Air Force ROTC cadets, 36 Army ROTC cadets and 26 cadets from the Navy ROTC will transition into military positions as part of their Embry-Riddle graduation.

A postponed in-person commencement ceremony will take place for graduates in December 2020. Spring 2020 graduates who cannot attend the rescheduled event can attend a Worldwide Campus commencement, instead, later this year. More information can be found online.

Worldwide Campus

A total of 536 students — 291 undergraduates and 245 master’s candidates representing the colleges of Aeronautics, Arts & Sciences and Business  — registered to attend one of three Embry-Riddle Worldwide Campus commencement ceremonies initially scheduled throughout April and May. These ceremonies were to be held in Daytona Beach, Florida; Pensacola, Florida; and Europe.

“As graduates, you are all masters of connection,” said Worldwide Chancellor John R. Watret, Ph.D. “You worked from your home offices, living rooms and kitchen tables. You worked from military bases, deployment and from aircraft carriers. You connected. And you succeeded.”