SUBJECT:

Save the Date - Welcome Week Convocation - September 24, 2013

Dear Colleagues:

Please save the date to participate in the 8th annual Welcome Week Convocation for new undergraduate students from 5:00 p.m.to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 24 on RIMAC Field. Participating faculty will be invited to assemble for a pre-Convocation reception onsite beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Convocation serves as the inaugural academic event for our new freshmen and transfer students and welcomes them into our scholarly community. The 45-minute ceremony will feature brief welcoming remarks by Associated Students President Andrew Buselt, Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, and distinguished academic keynote speaker and alumna Carol Padden.

Following the ceremony, faculty and students will share dinner on the field, providing a valuable and informal venue for students to interact with faculty. In surveys conducted this past year as part of the strategic planning process, students identified closer contact with faculty as one of the keys to a better, stronger student experience. Robust faculty participation is essential in order to demonstrate to our students the value we place in this first step on their academic journey. Signage will direct students to designated divisional and departmental areas where they can meet with faculty members from disciplines of interest to them.

A strong faculty showing will send a message to our students about our commitment to their education and our common academic mission. It is estimated that over 4,500 students and faculty attended last year's event. Note that academic regalia will not be required.

Please respond with your attendance plans to Gillian Hemingway (gchemingway@ucsd.edu or x40099) by Friday, September 13th. We appreciate your support of this important event for our new undergraduates.

Suresh Subramani Executive Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs Alan Houston Interim Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs Steven Adler Chair, Council of Provosts