SUBJECT:

Invitation to Participate in the New Student Welcome Convocation - September 30, 2014

Dear Colleagues:

Please join us for the 9th annual Welcome Convocation and Dinner for new undergraduate students from 5:00 p.m.to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 30 on RIMAC Field. Participating faculty are invited to assemble for a pre-Convocation reception and staging at the RIMAC Terrace beginning at 3:30 p.m. Note that academic regalia will not be required.

Convocation serves as the inaugural academic event for our new freshmen and transfer students and welcomes them into our scholarly community. The 40-minute ceremony will feature brief welcoming remarks by Associated Students President Robby Boparai, Executive Vice Chancellor Suresh Subramani, Professor James Fowler (Medical Genetics and Political Science) and alumnus Dan Santat, Revelle '98 - Author and Illustrator.

Following the ceremony, faculty and students will share dinner on the field, providing a valuable, informal venue for students to interact with faculty. Signage will direct students to designated divisional and departmental areas where they can meet with faculty members from disciplines of interest to them. In surveys conducted through the recent 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 on this first step in their academic journey.

Nearly 6,000 students and faculty attended last year's event. For additional information regarding Convocation, please visit: http://convocation.ucsd.edu/

Please respond with your attendance plans to evc-events@ucsd.edu by Friday, September 26th. If you unable to attend in person, you may show your support and welcome our new undergraduates by "tweeting" a personal message of welcome and encouragement for display at the event to #UCSDCONVOCATION. We appreciate your support of this important event for our new undergraduates.

Suresh Subramani Executive Vice Chancellor Juan González Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs