[PAST EVENT] Opening Convocation

August 29, 2012
5:15pm - 8:15pm
Location
Wren Building
111 Jamestown Rd
Williamsburg, VA 23185Map this location
Continuing a tradition that was reinaugurated during the College's Tercentenary in 1993, William and Mary begins each fall with our Opening Convocation to celebrate the start of the academic session. On the first day of classes, faculty, staff and students gather at the Sir Christopher Wren Building to signify the beginning of the academic year and to officially welcome all of our entering William and Mary students.

At the conclusion of the ceremony each year, the official party leads those in attendance around the building to the opposite side. According to our tradition, all students who are new to the College remain at the ceremony site with the College President. Then, at the tolling of the Wren Building bell, the President leads the group in a special procession through the portico of the building to the other side, where the new students are warmly welcomed by current members of the College's faculty, staff and student body. A festive campus-wide picnic dinner with live entertainment follows for the entire campus community.

Not unlike the Commencement exercises which mark the close of an academic session, this ceremony is a time of affirming and enhancing the sense of community which exists at William and Mary. It is a time of achieving focus, of highlighting themes we know to be important to our current condition, and of reaffirming those things we value and share. We welcome you to join us each fall as we honor our newest William and Mary students!
Contact

Student Affairs, [[studentaffairs]], 221-1236