Record Number of Freshmen Expected for Baylor Welcome Week Aug. 22-25

A record number of freshmen and transfer students will participate in Baylor University's Welcome Week, an orientation program for new students. The annual event, which began at Baylor in 1979 and emphasizes the intellectual, social, physical and spiritual aspects of college life, will run Saturday through Tuesday, Aug. 22-25.
Students will begin moving into residence halls at 8 a.m Saturday, and members of the university's faculty and staff -- including Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr., university vice presidents Donald D. Schmeltekopf and Marilyn Crone and School of Education Dean Robert Yinger -- will help students to move into the dorms. Welcome Week officially begins at 6:30 p.m. Saturday with the President's Picnic at Burleson Quadrangle followed by a parade of students to the Ferrell Center for a pep rally.
At noon Sunday at the Ferrell Center, Welcome Week participants will have the chance to speak with representatives from local churches. At 7 p.m., a Generation Celebration will take place at the Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village. On Monday, the students will participate in different service projects, such as painting houses, working at the World Hunger Farm and visiting local nursing homes.
A new Welcome Week event will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday when students meet with Baylor deans and faculty members to learn about different academic programs the university offers. "Students will choose two departments they are interested in, and they will talk to faculty about the requirements and classes," said Amanda Nolen, co-director of Welcome Week. "Hopefully the students will get a good idea of whether they would like to pursue that field of study."
Welcome Week will conclude Tuesday night with a Traditions Assembly and candle lighting at 8 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. Classes begin Wednesday, Aug. 26.