Convocation to welcome new students to campus

Incoming freshmen and transfer students will be introduced to the traditions of campus Tuesday during the Chancellor’s Convocation, an annual welcome that serves as the formal beginning of the student academic experience.

The convocation will be Sept. 4 at the Kohl Center from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Doors open at 9:45 a.m. Classes begin the following day.

Convocation marks the only time, until graduation, that students will be in an academic assembly with so many of their classmates. About 6,000 to 7,000 students are expected to attend. The ceremony is sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor and the Center for the First-Year Experience.

Sarah Mangelsdorf, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, will welcome students and provide the historical context for convocation. Chancellor Rebecca Blank will share advice on how students can get the most out of their time on campus.

 

Larry Nesper, a professor of anthropology and director of American Indian studies at UW–­Madison, will offer a welcome that acknowledges and honors Wisconsin’s First Nations. Patrick Sims, deputy vice chancellor and chief diversity officer, will speak on behalf of faculty.

Student speaker Yogev Ben-Yitschak, a junior marketing and international business major from Milwaukee, will share how he’s learned to be open to all the opportunities offered on campus. Students also will hear from Dr. Lori Reesor, who is herself new to campus. She serves in the newly created role of vice chancellor for student affairs.

As students head to the exits, they will receive a free copy of the latest book selected for Go Big Read, the common reading program. This year’s book is “The Death and Life of the Great Lakes” by Dan Egan.