President Michael Driscoll and Provost Gerald Intemann invite all faculty and staff to extend a warm IUP welcome to the freshman class at Convocation and a community cookout on Sunday, August 26.
Convocation begins at 5:00 p.m. at Fisher Auditorium, Performing Arts Center. The Student Government Association will host, and music will be provided by members of the IUP Wind Ensemble and Symphony Band. The cookout will be held immediately afterward in the Oak Grove.
Faculty can attend in informal dress or may robe. Faculty who wish to robe are asked to meet in the large rehearsal hall on the second floor of the Performing Arts Center at 4:30 p.m. Procession begins at 4:45 p.m.
As special to the launch of students' IUP career as Commencement is to its conclusion, Convocation is an opportunity for faculty to meet new students and impart the spirit of academic community at IUP.
Professor Abbas Ali, the 2012–13 University Professor, will preside as master of ceremonies.
Professor Ben Rafoth will deliver the keynote, and remarks will be given by President Driscoll; the Rev. Joan Sabatino, IUP Interfaith Council; and student trustee Andrew Longacre.
Rafoth says it's common to ask, "Will I fit in? Did I make the right decision to come to IUP?"
All students must answer for themselves. However, he says, this is “not just a personal matter,” but instead, “a person matter. You also have to look outward, to the persons around you, to discover how you can learn and benefit from this place and the people who are here with you.”
In his keynote speech, titled “The People You Meet at IUP,” Rafoth will share the stories of five people on campus he believes illustrate the resonant connections and experiences that await new students.
