Annual Convocation welcomes incoming students

NEW PALTZ — The State University of New York at New Paltz will hold its 17th annual Convocation at noon on Aug. 22 in Julien J. Studley Theatre, located in the Old Main Building.

Convocation is a formal welcoming ceremony for incoming first-year students and transfer students, with a focus on the academic experience at the university. At the ceremony, new students and their families are introduced to the intellectual expectations and values that support the SUNY New Paltz community of scholars.

This year’s Convocation, which is highlighted by the college’s 175th anniversary, will begin with the singing of “America the Beautiful” by Jannette DeWitt, a music major at New Paltz. President Steven G. Poskanzer will make opening remarks and Provost David K. Lavallee will make the introduction. Barbara Hardgrave, presiding officer of the faculty, and Harrison Harvey, president of the Student Association, will both officially welcome the new students. Members of the SUNY New Paltz faculty will also attend.

Kurt Daw, dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts, will introduce Patricia C. Phillips, professor of art in the School of Fine and Performing Arts, who will give the Convocation address. Her speech is titled, “Life is an Idea.”

“The way that we begin any significant experience in life may be just as important as its conclusion or culmination,” said Phillips. “For our new students (both freshmen and transfers), Convocation may offer moments of reflection on the expectations and fears of a challenging new passage in their lives. And for faculty and staff, this annual academic ceremony can be an opportunity to review and reconfirm our commitment to our students, the quality of learning and the integrity of our teaching.”

Phillips received a Bachelor of Arts in art from Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa., and performed graduate studies in landscape architecture at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Throughout her career as an educator and critic, she has written extensively in the areas of public art, architecture, design and sculpture. In 2002 she was awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Research Recognition Award.

Note to editors: Media wishing to attend this event should contact the SUNY New Paltz Public Affairs Office at 257-3245 by Aug. 21 for parking instructions. Please arrive at the event by 11:30 a.m., and see the event coordinator, Judy Albertson, or the college spokesperson, Eric Gullickson, for a press pass prior to entering the building.

A photograph of the Convocation speaker, Patricia C. Phillips, may be downloaded from the SUNY New Paltz Web site at www.newpaltz.edu/news/images/phillips.html.