Gustavus Adolphus College began its 154th academic year this morning when students returned to class to open the Fall 2015 semester.
The academic schedule started at 8:00 a.m. and then at 10:00 a.m. President Rebecca M. Bergman gathered with the community in Christ Chapel for the College’s Opening Convocation service. Now entering her second year as president, Bergman’s message focused on the tale of the Good Samaritan and the core values of Community, Service, and Justice.
“We have a shared mission, shared values, and shared traditions, and these are principles that bind us together,” she said. “On the opening day of the academic year, I invite you all to think about what kind of community we want to be.”
President Bergman charged the campus to continue to be one that values relationships, dialogue, and inclusiveness. “May this be a place where kindness, compassion, and respect are practiced every day, by everyone, in every action, and in every conversation,” she said. Addressing the crowd of new and returning students, faculty, and staff, Bergman ended the message with a question: “Can this community count on you?”
Today also marks the first day of college classes for the Gustavus Class of 2019, whose members moved to campus on Friday, Sept. 4, and spent the weekend doing first-year orientation activities.
“Last week I was a little anxious,” said first-year student Claire Dirnberger, a Hopkins, Minn. native. “Move-in day went really well and orientation made me feel more familiar with and comfortable on campus.” Dirnberger is excited for her first semester at Gustavus. “I look forward to getting involved on campus and working with professors and the Academic Support Center to find my major and career path,” she said.
Dirnberger and her over 640 classmates bring an interesting variety of backgrounds and talents to the College. Some statistical information on the Class of 2019 includes:
- Average high school grade point average is 3.64
- Average ACT score is 27
- Students hail from 31 states and 15 countries
- 24 percent of the class is from outside of Minnesota
- Six percent of the students are from outside the United States, including 17 students from Vietnam, 4 from Pakistan, and 3 from Malaysia
The first two months of the academic year are always some of the busiest months of the year at Gustavus. Here are some of the events that will take place on campus in September and October:
September 15: Reading in Common Lecture, Members of the Lacks’ family will talk about the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, 7:00 p.m., Alumni Hall
September 26: Homecoming: The Great Gustie Gathering.
October 6-7: The 51st Annual Nobel Conference: Addiction – Exploring the Science and Experience of an Equal Opportunity Condition
October 10-11: Gustavus Family Weekend
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