Message to the Spring 2021 Class from Dean Mummery

Dear Graduates,

Class of 2021 – last year I wrote that the class of 2020 was one of the most unique graduating classes in the history of the University of Alberta – well congratulations 2021 graduates, your experiences have topped that!

One thing I have learned over my years is that everything is temporary, and COVID19 will be temporary too. Although it has profoundly changed the way you completed your degree, and the way you will receive your degree, it will be a rallying cry for your class for decades to come. Alumni weekend 2046, when you gather again to celebrate the 25th anniversary of your graduation will be filled with stories of the COVID pandemic, and how it changed everything for you way back in 2021…Bank on it.

Many of you have come through a very stressful period. Four years, or more, of dedicated study including a move from traditional face-to-face instruction to an online environment. Sadly, much of the university experience that you sought, and we pride ourselves in was lost, or at least drastically altered. But you made it through! You are a graduate of the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, one of the best faculties of its type anywhere in the world.

Congratulations and best wishes to the Class of 2021. You are officially at the end of the beginning. Best wishes for all that lies ahead.

Best wishes,

Kerry Mummery, PhD FASMF
Professor and Dean
Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation