Convocation, Burger Bash Welcome First-Year Students

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas will welcome a city’s worth of new people to the campus — first-year students starting their academic careers with Academic Convocation, to be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19, in Bud Walton Arena, The convocation will introduce first-year students to upper level faculty, staff and administrators, and get them excited about opportunities outside of the classroom such as faculty-student team research. Burger Bash, a party with food and entertainment, will follow in the Gardens, across the street from Bud Walton Arena.

“Academic Convocation sets the tone for student expectations at the collegiate level,” said Shelia Burkhalter, director of First Year Experience Programs. “It shows students that faculty, staff and administrators are a united team, willing and available to help students succeed during their University of Arkansas experience. We want the students sitting in Bud Walton Arena to see and understand that this is where they will be in four years during commencement. We also want students to recognize that they are not just here for graduation, but transformation.”

A major part of the convocation ceremony will be to showcase the winners of the Convocation Faculty and Undergraduate Student Collaboration Awards. There were 21 nominations submitted by various faculty members and students across the campus. The four winning projects will be featured in short videos. They were chosen as the best projects in which faculty members collaborated with undergraduate students to conduct research. The winners are: “Everything is Alive: Steps Toward Pervasive Computing” from the College of Engineering; “Health Teams Abroad: Sweden” from the College of Education and Health Professions and the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences; “Investigation of Single Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Cells with Raman Tweezers” from the Honors College and the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences; “St. Mathew’s Sustainable Farm Project — Belize” from the Honors College and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

In addition to the videos the ceremony will feature speakers welcoming first-year students to campus, including Chancellor John A. White, Provost Bob Smith, and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Johnetta Cross Brazzell. The Associated Student Government president, Nate Looney, 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 across the street to the Gardens, where they will find plenty of food, fun and friends at Burger Bash.