{"id":15228,"date":"2023-08-22T17:32:39","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T21:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/?p=15228"},"modified":"2023-08-22T17:32:39","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T21:32:39","slug":"elizabethtown-college-officially-opens-2023-24-academic-year-with-convocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/2023\/08\/22\/elizabethtown-college-officially-opens-2023-24-academic-year-with-convocation\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabethtown College Officially Opens 2023-24 Academic Year with Convocation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elizabethtown College officially kicked off the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year by holding Convocation on Tuesday, Aug. 22 in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

View photos from the ceremony.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The Convocation Ceremony marks the official start to the academic year and includes the presentation of the incoming class to the campus community.\u00a0 It also serves as an opportunity to celebrate faculty, student, and staff achievements, including faculty members who have been promoted, and\/or tenured effective in the 2023-24 academic year.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the ceremony, members of the College\u2019s leadership addressed the campus community, including President Betty Rider who offered advice to <\/span>Etown\u2019s largest incoming class since 2009.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI issue everyone here today a challenge,\u201d Elizabethtown College President Betty Rider said during her Convocation Address. \u201cEmbrace both the joy and the uncertainty that lies before you. Treat this day as the new beginning that it is. Believe in your potential. Embrace your value. Take advantage of your opportunities.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Etown\u2019s remarkable incoming class totaling 580 students, which includes 546 first-year students and 34 new transfer students was celebrated and recognized as a group. Highlights of the class include:<\/span><\/p>\n

– An average GPA is 3.685
\n<\/span>– A total of 112 domestic students of color and international students, representing a 20% increase from the previous class
\n<\/span>– Students hailing from 17 states and 10 foreign countries including, Brazil, Ethiopia, Greece, and Mongolia
\n<\/span>– 119 students accepted into the Honors Program at Elizabethtown College
\n<\/span>– Seven incoming Stamps Scholars (The Stamps Scholarship program recognizes and rewards exceptional students who exemplify leadership, perseverance, scholarship, service, overcoming obstacles, and innovation.)<\/span><\/p>\n

View the full Fall 2023 Incoming Class Profile<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Also recognized at Convocation were newly tenured and promoted faculty effective in the 2023-24 academic year, along with faculty merit award recipients, as well as winners of the Kreider Prize for Teaching Excellence, the Ranck Prize for Research Excellence and the Polanowski Prize for Advising and Mentorship. Staff were also recognized, including winners of the 2022 David C. Beidleman Exemplar Staff Award.<\/span><\/p>\n

Newly Tenured and Promoted Faculty<\/strong><\/p>\n