SUBJECT:

Faculty Participation in the Academic Welcome Convocation

We write to invite your participation in the 10th annual Welcome Convocation for new undergraduate students from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday, September 21st on RIMAC Field (http://convocation.ucsd.edu/).

Participating faculty are invited to a pre-Convocation reception beginning at 3:30 p.m. nearby (location TBD). The reception will serve as the staging and assembly area for the Convocation ceremony. Faculty will line up for the processional by 4:45 p.m. (regalia will not be worn).

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 Dominick Suvonnasupa, Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, Professor Wayne Yang (Ethnic Studies) and alumna Coleen Sabatini, MD, MPH '99. Following the ceremony, faculty and students will share a festive dinner on the field. Signage will direct students to designated divisional and departmental areas where they can meet and chat with faculty members from those disciplines.

Robust faculty participation is essential in order to demonstrate to our students the value we place in this symbolic first step on their academic journey at UC San Diego. In surveys conducted as part of the strategic planning process, students identified closer contact with faculty as one of the keys to a better, stronger student experience. A prominent faculty showing will send a strong message to our students about our commitment to their education and our common academic mission. It is estimated that over 5,500 students and faculty attended last year's event.

Please RSVP to evc-events@ucsd.edu or x43130 by Friday, September 11. We appreciate your support of this important event for our new undergraduates.

Suresh Subramani Executive Vice Chancellor - Academic Affairs Juan González Vice Chancellor - Student Affairs