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The 594 members of the Class of 2011 were officially welcomed to campus Aug. 24 during Convocation ceremonies opening the College’s 176th academic year.
David A. Clary, author of Adopted Son: Washington, Lafayette, and the Friendship that Saved the Revolution, delivered the main address, “How a Teenager Ran Away from Home and Won a War.”
President Daniel Weiss and Student Government president Julie Sauer ’08 (Rochester, N.Y.), a double major in economics & business and government & law, provided welcoming remarks to the students.
The speakers’ complete remarks can be found at the links below:
James McLaughlin ’76, Alumni Association president, presented the Class of 2011 flag and stressed the quality of Lafayette faculty and the importance of maintaining tradition.
“The chief differentiator in my life and the thing that you will all experience is that we at Lafayette have a very special faculty,” says McLaughlin. “The thing that I’ve conveyed to many [people] that I’ve had a chance to talk to, is that truly is our brand – we have a nurturing faculty. So use them, reach them, get to know them, connect with them. This is very unusual. Your friends that are at U.T. Austin, or at Berkley, or the University of Massachusetts do not enjoy this opportunity.”
Also speaking were Hannah Stewart-Gambino, dean of the College; Carol Rowlands ’81, director of admissions; and John Colatch, director of religious life and College chaplain. The College’s new provost and dean of the faculty, Wendy Hill, led the faculty processional and joined Weiss in announcing the official matriculation of new students.
The first-year students took part in many more activities over the weekend as part of New Student Orientation. Classes officially began Monday, Aug. 27.
The College’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s birthday was mentioned numerous times during Convocation and Clary’s lecture was the first event related to the celebration.
Major events throughout the year will include a lecture series, entitled Lives of Liberty, featuring renowned speakers; a historical exhibit at the Williams Center for the Arts, entitled A Son and his Adoptive Father: The Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington, and a birthday party on Sept. 6.