In less than three weeks, MTSU students will be driving alongside us on our streets, sitting next to us at restaurants and standing in line with us at the grocery store.
More than 26,500 students will start fall 2011 classes Saturday, Aug. 27, making MTSU’s Centennial year the largest—and busiest—in its history.
Before all the books are stacked and boxes unpacked, however, students, staff and the community have a chance to come together to welcome the new academic year and the incoming class of 2015.
That occasion is University Convocation.
At 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, in Murphy Center, MTSU faculty will march in their academic regalia to dramatic compositions performed by the MTSU Band of Blue.
President Sidney A. McPhee will explain the University’s traditions and rituals to the newest members of the MTSU family.
This year’s 3,700-plus freshmen will then hear from author Dave Isay, whose “Listening is an Act of Love” they’ve been reading this summer in preparation for their first year of college.
“Listening is an Act of Love,” the book version of the United States’ largest oral-history project, features two- to three-page transcripts culled from more than 10,000 interviews captured by Isay’s StoryCorps organization.
For the last decade, thanks to MTSU’s popular Summer Reading Program, authors with inspirational stories have been part of Convocation by encouraging new freshmen as they write a new chapter of their own stories.
By reading works from Paul Rusesabagina, Rick Bragg, Anne Garrels, Aron Ralston and Warren St. John and then hearing those authors at Convocation, students have a unifying experience to launch their college years and learn something new about the world, too.
University Convocation is a chance, every fall, for students and their families, professors and the community to gather on campus and pause the perpetual motion for a few moments.
It gives each of them, and us, an opportunity to think about the commitment that they, and we, are making to education.
That shared commitment to lifelong learning is what’s kept MTSU growing for the last 100 years.
Convocation is about famous guests and fancy robes and pomp and circumstance, certainly.
But it’s more about welcoming newcomers to the University, and to Murfreesboro, and honoring our mutual commitment to education.
Convocation is always open to the public, too, because Murfreesboro is always part of the MTSU family.
Join us for a family reunion on Sunday, Aug. 28, in Murphy Center, won’t you?
Meet the newcomers and say hello to old friends.
And stay for the President’s Picnic afterward in Walnut Grove.
We can’t wait to see you.
Gina E. Fann works in MTSU’s Office of News and Media Relations and manages content for the university’s news site, MTSUnews.com. For more information about “Listening is an Act of Love,” visit storycorps.org.
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