Academic Convocation Welcomes First-Year Students

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas will officially welcome home thousands of first-year students with an academic convocation, to be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 22, in Bud Walton Arena. This year’s event includes a keynote speech by T.J. Holmes, a University of Arkansas alumnus and anchor at CNN in Atlanta. Burger Bash, a party with food and entertainment, will follow convocation in The Gardens near Bud Walton.

“Academic Convocation is a way to show first-year students that faculty, staff and administrators are a united team, willing and available to help them succeed during their University of Arkansas experience,” said Quincy Spencer, director of First Year Experience programs.

The event is held in Bud Walton Arena to signify that this is also where students will be during commencement. Introducing first-year students to upper-level faculty, staff and administrators, academic convocation is designed to celebrate first-year students’ entry into the university, and it gives the Division of Academic Affairs an opportunity to formally introduce students to the academic experience at the university.

To get students excited about opportunities to work collaboratively with faculty outside of the classroom, the winners of the John A. White Award for Faculty-Student Collaboration are showcased and featured in short videos. The award winners this year are the Tibetans in Exile Today, or TEXT Project, and The Use of Sustainable Algae Biomass in the Production of Transport Fuels. These were chosen as the best projects in which faculty members collaborated with undergraduate and graduate students.

In addition to the videos, the ceremony will feature speakers welcoming first-year students to campus, including Chancellor G. David Gearhart and Provost Sharon Gaber and Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Danny Pugh. The keynote speaker is T.J. Holmes, a University of Arkansas alumnus and anchor of the weekend morning edition of CNN Newsroom. Holmes graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism in 1999 and was honored with the Young Alumni Award in 2007. The Associated Student Government president, Billy Fleming, will lead the students in the University Pledge as each student dons the University of Arkansas pin.

At the conclusion of the ceremony students will walk to The Gardens where they will find plenty of food, fun and friends at Burger Bash.