Upcoming Events

Carleton’s Opening Convocation is the first campus-wide event of a new academic year. It is a time of joy as we reassemble to engage in discovery and exploration. An important tradition, the Opening Convocation ceremony is intended both to affirm continuity with the past and to embrace new beginnings.

This year’s keynote address will be given by Governor Tim Walz, keeping with a long tradition of Minnesota governors speaking at the event.

Tim Walz is Minnesota’s 41st Governor. He was first elected governor in 2018 and won re-election in 2022. Accomplishments from his time in office include providing universal free school meals for K-12 students, protecting reproductive freedom, strengthening voting rights, laying the groundwork for Minnesota to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2040, cutting taxes for the middle class, and expanding paid leave for Minnesota workers.

Born in a small town in rural Nebraska, Governor Walz credits his Midwest upbringing for instilling in him the values of public service, generosity toward your neighbors, and working for the common good. After high school graduation, Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard. He attended Chadron State College and graduated with a social science degree in 1989. He spent a year teaching abroad before returning home to serve full time in the Army National Guard and eventually accepting a high school teaching and coaching position.

While teaching, Walz met his future wife, Gwen Whipple, who taught at the same school. They moved to Mankato in 1996, where he taught social studies and helped coach the Mankato West High School football team that won the school’s first state championship. After 24 years in the Army National Guard, he retired as Command Sergeant Major Walz from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005.

Walz won his first election to the United States House of Representatives in 2006 and was re-elected for another five terms serving Minnesota’s First Congressional District in Southern Minnesota. In 2024, he was the Democratic Party’s nominee for Vice President of the United States.

This convocation is also presented as a virtual webinar. Please register in advance if you would like to attend via Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Additionally, the program will be simulcasted in the satellite location Olin 149.

And be sure to attend the Garden Party after Opening Convocation.

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