Most Samford University students will arrive on campus Sunday, Aug. 24, in anticipation of classes set to begin Monday, Aug. 25.
Some, including athletes, band members and residence hall counselors, have arrived throughout August for special training and activities.
Giggles, hugs and hearty handshakes become commonplace as returning students renew friendships and freshmen are welcomed to the Samford family.
“Beginning the academic year is one of the most exciting events in higher education,” acknowledges Samford President Thomas E. Corts.
“You see the students roll in with their deep, dark tans, their great stories of summer experiences, their boxes and boxes of ‘stuff,’ their wide-eyed readiness to start the year anew,” he said. “Particles of energy and anticipation are in the air, or so it seems.
“A university campus can be a fairly quiet place with the reduced enrollment of summer school. So, when the full enrollment descends, it is exhilarating,” said Corts, who begins his 20th year as Samford president this fall.
About 700 freshmen are expected to begin their first year at Samford. They, plus about 100 expected transfer students, will form the second largest group of new students in Samford history. The newest members of the Samford student body were chosen from a record 2,066 applicants.
Samford freshmen will receive their final orientation to campus life during Connections, Aug. 21–24. Activities include special assemblies, recreation and small group meetings.
A session on community activism will be based on their summer reading assignment, “Why We Can’t Wait” by Martin Luther King. Jonathan Bass, assistant professor of history, and Gerald Austin, pastor, New City Church, Birmingham, and president, Center for Urban Missions, will lead the discussion.
In September, all students can choose to attend a Leadership Samford program “Clearing the Static: Exploring Media, Culture, and Leadership,” led by Hal Wingo, former assistant managing editor of People magazine.
A new look
Returning students will notice campus changes and improvements that took place during the summer months.
The major renovation of Russell Hall, former home to the biology department, will be complete and ready for shared use by McWhorter School of Pharmacy and the department of mathematics and computer science.
The pharmacy school will also enjoy newly renovated space in Ingalls Hall. A two-level connector between the two buildings will provide an entry way and pharmacy office space.
Other noticeable campus improvements include the completion of 63 additional parking spaces for students who live in central campus residence halls.
Noteworthy changes, less obvious from a physical standpoint, also include a new electronic billing system and payment options.
For the first time, all students will be notified via e-mail of their billing statement, and they or their parents can make payments electronically.
The graduate-level nurse anesthesia program at Samford’s Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing received accreditation from the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Education Programs.
The Samford program also received a $310,495 Title VIII federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to assist with program development.
Also during the summer, Samford debuted a monthly electronic newsletter, The Belltower, which is available to alumni and other friends.
To subscribe, visit The Belltower on the Samford Web site, www.Samford.edu.
New sports conference
This fall marks the first season Samford sports teams will compete in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Bulldogs open the football season with a televised opener against University of Tennessee Chattanooga Aug. 28.
The Football Network will carry the game, which kicks off at 7 p.m. in Chattanooga. Samford volleyball and soccer teams also open their seasons the last weekend in August.
Alumni will return for homecoming activities the weekend of Oct. 25. The fall campus schedule is filled with many other special events, performances, lectures and convocations, most of which are free and open to the public.
“No two academic years are alike,” said Corts. “Each takes a particular shape, with each new wave of students. But however much the times change, the students are remarkably similar. They bring tremendous enthusiasm, optimism and hope for the future.
“Part of our job is to be sure we don’t damage the great sense of possibility and adventure, and that we enhance and direct it, insofar as possible,” he continued. (SU)
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