When convocation kicks off in Matthew Knight Arena to launch the academic careers of first-time Ducks, current faculty and staff will be there to join in the welcoming of their new peers.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend convocation, the UO’s traditional first event of the new academic year that welcomes new students, faculty and staff. It will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 21.

Josh Snodgrass, associate vice provost for undergraduate studies, said any member of the UO community with a bachelor’s degree or higher is encouraged to wear academic regalia to the event. The deadline to rent regalia to ensure it gets delivered on time is Friday, Aug. 10, which is just around the corner.

“We are encouraging people to wear regalia to help students understand the life-changing academic journey they are embarking on and to deliberately connect them to where they will be in four years, which is graduation,” Snodgrass said.

The tradition of convocation is now a program of Undergraduate Studies and the Office of the Provost. It is tied to the presidential initiative to advance and support student success.

This year’s convocation will include:

• A student keynote address by German major and Clark Honors College student Alex Mentzel, who will discuss his recent research in Germany as part of the DAAD scholarship and his upcoming theater production in Eugene.
• A keynote address by Renée James, former president of Intel and current CEO of Ampere Computing.
• Introduction of new faculty members, including tenure-track and career non-tenure-track faculty.
• The official welcoming of new students to the campus community, including the Class of 2022 and transfer students from across the state and nation, which will be led by UO President Michael Schill.
• The recognition of faculty and staff winners of the UO Distinguished Teaching Awards.

To order regalia visit the UO Duckstore website. Additional information about the event is available on the convocation website.