With Labor Day behind us, and New Student Week about to begin, you can feel the energy building on campus! Student athletes, peer leaders, and some other groups have already returned, and it is fun to see students greeting one another, faculty comparing notes on summer research or travel, and staff in many offices finalizing preparations for the start of fall term.
Those of you who are returning to campus will see a lot of changes. The dust has settled on a busy summer of construction, and it is exciting to see so many wonderful spaces ready for students to move in. It was great to tour the completed Lilac Hill residences this week and see how these buildings combine the highest levels of sustainable design with convenient layout and space. I have enjoyed seeing students who moved in last week already sitting out on the front porches looking like they have lived there forever. The Multicultural House and Center, and Neil House, the Black Center, offer living spaces for a variety of cultural houses and some terrific program space as well (as I shared on Instagram). These spaces will not only impact students who live there, they will change the flow of people across campus to these new destinations in new and interesting ways.
If you read Vice President Art Rodriguez’ column about the Class of 2028, you know we will have some amazing students arriving next week. Some members of the Carleton community have already helped to welcome these new students at one of many Summer Send-Off events held over the past month in cities coast to coast (and in between). I happened to speak last week with a parent of a returning sophomore who attended the Houston, TX send-off, and they really enjoyed talking with new students and their parents and sharing their own experience of this important transition. These events are a great way for families to feel more connected with the Carleton community, especially those whose students may be the first in their families to go to college, or to attend a school far from home.
We will have many opportunities to gather in the coming weeks, and to reflect on the year ahead. In the meantime, safe travels to Northfield for new students, and back to campus for those returning — I look forward to seeing you soon!
Featured in Carleton Today, September 5, 2024