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Beginning of a new year
UB welcomes new students
Incoming students and their families are entertained by “Thunder of the East,” UB’s marching band, during the new student picnic at Baird Point. View slideshow
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Slideshow: New students and their families were welcomed to UB with pomp, circumstance and fun. | View slideshow
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“The quality of students this year is the best it's ever been and I fully anticipate that as the number of students grows, that quality will be enhanced.”
Pomp and circumstance, as well as 4,000 chicken dinners, were the order of the day on Aug. 22 as UB opened the new academic year and welcomed new students and their families.
“You have joined a wonderful, wonderful institution,” President John B. Simpson¬, welcoming new students and their families to the “UB family” during a ceremony in the Center for the Arts.
“Drink deep” of the educational experiences available UB, he urged members of the Class of 2012, adding: “You will never again in your lives have opportunities such as you have now at this university.”
Emphasizing UB’s wide breadth of programs and status as a member of the prestigious American Association of Universities, he added: “The faculty here, who are all scholars in their own right in their own field, are making the conversation, are creating the knowledge, are participating in the generation of information about which you will be taught.”
Focusing on UB 2020, Simpson addressed transformation of UB’s three campus centers, as well as an increase the numbers students and faculty, all as steps ensuring the lasting quality of students’ education at UB.
“The quality of students this year is the best it’s ever been,” he said, “and I fully anticipate that as the number of students grows, that quality will be enhanced.”
Natalie C. Simpson, associate professor of operations management and strategy, School of Management, welcomed incoming students on behalf of UB’s faculty, including 112 new full-time faculty members joining UB this fall.
She urged students to plan their future, but to not be afraid to adjust their plans based on their UB experiences.
“UB is an amazing intersection of art, science, community and industry,” she said. “UB is also simultaneously one of the most international universities in the country. Keep your eyes open; you’re naturally going to see opportunities that you couldn’t possibly be aware of right now…never be afraid to react, to adapt, to explore or to change your mind.”
Satish K. Tripathi, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, challenged the incoming freshmen “to take advantage of the diverse intellectual opportunities UB has to offer.”
He advised them to “participate in community-based civic engagement activities or research studies; take advantage of living and learning in a uniquely cosmopolitan community; extend your cultural learning to a study abroad experience; and take advantage of the academic diversity of our campus by minoring in a subject that seems totally opposite from your major interest. Discover the richness of UB and the greater world of which it is a part.”
At the new student picnic at Baird Point that followed the ceremony, more than 250 faculty, staff and student volunteers served dinner to new students and their families, who were serenaded by UB’s “Thunder of the East” marching band. The picnic was followed by a concert at the point.
“September Welcome” continues with a month of campus-wide special events designed to celebrate the beginning of the academic year and to welcome new students to campus.
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