Dear Colleagues,

Next week, we’re hosting a campuswide remembrance ceremony to honor the CSU students, staff, and faculty who have passed away over the course of this year.

In this month where we celebrate so much that is good, strong, and wonderful about CSU, it seems fitting that we also take time to remember and celebrate those members of our community who are no longer with us — but who remain in our hearts and whose memory we continue to honor.

The format for the event will be simple, and we expect it will last no more than 15 minutes from beginning to end. We’ll collect in silence at the north steps of the Administration Building. I’ll offer a brief welcome, we’ll have some music, and then VP for Student Affairs Blanche Hughes and Provost/Executive Vice President Rick Miranda will read the names of those we are honoring. After the reading, there will be an opportunity for members of the audience to speak the names of others they want to remember, and then we will have a moment of silence. The ceremony will conclude with a candlelight walk up the Oval, concluding at the non-denominational Danforth Chapel. The chapel will be open until 6 p.m. for anyone who wants a quiet place to think and reflect.

I want to be clear that participation is purely personal and voluntary. But we wanted to provide an opportunity — particularly for those parts of our campus that have been deeply impacted by losses this year — to gather and remember, either individually or together.

A ceremony like this is a tradition at some other universities, and we think it can become so here, if people find it meaningful and worthwhile. The history of our campus is the history of its people — and it’s important we take the time to recognize those we remember and miss.

If you’d like more information on the program, please see the story in Today@ColoradoState.

Thanks — and enjoy what looks to be a beautiful Colorado weekend.

-tony

Dr. Tony Frank
President

remembrance candle