Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2006-08-23

Samford University freshmen will arrive on campus Thursday (AUG. 24) for "move-in" day and to begin a series of final orientation events.

About 800 new Samford students, including freshmen and transfer students, hail from some 25 states and 34 Alabama counties. They will be part of an expected total fall enrollment of about 4,400.

During the four-day orientation, new students will engage in faculty-student discussions designed by Samford history professor Dr. Jonathan Bass, editor of the compilation, Journey to Birmingham: Race, Christianity and Community in the Magic City. 

The work, which highlights the evangelical impetus of the civil rights movement, will challenge Samford students to put their own faith into action as they become part of the Birmingham community, says director of freshman life Dana K. Basinger.

U. W. Clemon, chief judge of the U.S. District Court, Northern Alabama, and longtime leader in issues related to racial justice and equality, will address freshmen at 10 a.m. on Friday.

The orientation program also includes a new "Life Comes at You Fast" event to help students learn the value of setting goals. During 20-minute semester simulations, students will set goals in academic, spiritual, social and physical areas. The process will help them to evaluate and reasonably re-set their goals.

The freshmen will be joined by returning upperclassmen on Sunday, Aug. 27. New and returning students will note progress on various campus construction projects, most noticeably the new Jane Hollock Brock Recital Hall, refurbishment of the northern portion of Wright Center with its newly named Bonnie Bolding Swearingen Hall, and new furnishings in several residence halls.

Fall semester classes will begin Monday, Aug. 28. Samford president Dr. Andrew Westmoreland, who became Samford's 18th president on June 1, will address students at the semester's opening convocation at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29.

Samford's Cumberland School of Law students are already hard at work, having started classes Monday, Aug. 21.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.