Swarthmore College Commencement 2020: By the Numbers
The Scott Outdoor Amphitheater, where Swarthmore College commencement is traditionally held. Photo courtesy of Swarthmore College
418: Graduating seniors.
418: Packages to be delivered to seniors containing a diploma, T-shirt, and cookies from Dining Services.
320+: Itea virginica (Henry’s Garnet) Virginia sweetspire plants included in those packages for seniors who took the Scott Arboretum up on their offer, in keeping with tradition.
10+: staff members — from the Campus & Community Store, Print Services, the Registrar’s Office, and Post Office — who rolled the diplomas, assembled the packages, and will ship the boxes next week.
25+: Students and staff members who helped to produce the virtual presentation, including the senior class officers, Lang Performing Arts Center, Information Technology Services, the Music and Dance Department, and Communications.
84: Students who are first in their family to graduate from college.
80: Students receiving honors.
316: Oral honors exams taken, almost all on video conferencing sites like Zoom with a few over telephone as a backup.
132: External honors examiners hosted, from across the U.S., Norway, and Canada.
60: Honors special projects and theses.
84: Students with the most popular major, economics.
151: Students with double majors.
72: Students with special majors, including comparative racial and transnational politics, political science & architectural history, and environmental anthropology.
225: Students with a minor.
1: Student with the College’s newest minor, Global Studies.
45: International students from 25 countries, as well as 35 U.S. citizens who have dual citizenship in 21 additional countries.
38: States represented by students, including Washington, D.C.
26: Students with one or more parents who is an alum.
12: Students with one or more grandparent or great-grandparent who is an alum.
10+: National award winners, including a Marshall Scholar, a Fulbright grantee, a Goldwater Scholar, a Gaither Fellow, a Luce Scholar, a Roothbert Fund Scholar, a Newman Civic Fellow, a Next Generation Peacemaker awardee, a Stanford University Innovation Fellow, and a U.S. State Department Critical Languages Scholar.
21: Athletes from the senior class who reached the NCAA quarterfinals or beyond (2017 volleyball, 2018 baseball, and 2018 and 2019 men’s basketball).
2: Board members of the Swarthmore chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers.
Published in cooperation with Swarthmore College.
