The University of Vermont will officially open the 2016/17 academic year with a convocation ceremony to be held on Sunday, August 28, at 6:30 p.m. in the Patrick Gymnasium Complex.

The event is free and open to the public.

UVM President Tom Sullivan and David Rosowsky, the university’s provost, will be the main speakers at the event.

President Sullivan plans to describe the link between student engagement and student success and urge student members of the audience to take full advantage of all UVM has to offer. Provost Rosowsky will offer a reflection on the Pulitzer Prize winning book first-year students were asked to read over the summer, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, by Elizabeth Kolbert.(Kolbert will give a free public talk about her book at UVM on September 14.)

Following the ceremony, students, faculty and staff will process down Main Street as a community to the university green in front of the Waterman Building for a candlelight induction ceremony. 

Between 7:15 and 8 p.m., depending on when the procession starts, Main Street will be closed for approximately 30 minutes between the west side of the jug handle and the east side of South Prospect Street.  University Place will also be closed between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm for the twilight Induction on the Green.  

In the case of inclement weather, the twilight induction ceremony will be held indoors in the Patrick Gym, and streets will not be closed.

PUBLISHED

08-24-2016
Jeffrey R. Wakefield