Drew University Welcomes the Class of 2018 with Campus Activities

A welcome lunch, speech by the president, residence hall meeting and candlelight pinning ceremony are just some of the events taking place on August 29, when Drew University welcomes to campus the members of the Class of 2018.

“It is with great pleasure that I welcome the members of the Class of 2018 to the Drew University campus,” President MaryAnn Baenninger said. “With our strength in the arts and humanities, international education, civic engagement and semesters in New York City, Drew offers students a rigorous liberal arts education shaped by unique learning experiences in the larger world.”

Starting at 7 a.m. the University in the Forest will be buzzing with activity as the new first-year students are welcomed.
Drew’s student-athletes, who arrived on campus two weeks early, will be on hand volunteering to move the students and their belongings into the university’s residence halls. That kicks off a day filled with events to welcome students and
parents and launch the school year.

Some of the highlights of the day include:
• Students moving into the residence halls from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Students and their families eating lunch in the Commons from 11 a.m. to 2
• Students being formally welcomed by President MaryAnn Baenninger and
other administrators from 2 to 2:45 p.m. in the Baldwin Gymnasium.
• Students taking part in a candlelight pinning ceremony welcoming them to
Drew and the Class of 2018 from 9:15 to 10 p.m. at the Tolley/Brown Circle.

Throughout the day students also will take part in leisure activities, residence hall meetings and meals to welcome them and orient them to campus. After students are moved in and have eaten lunch, Drew University President MaryAnn Baenninger will address the incoming first year class and their parents, along with other administrators, at the Baldwin Gymnasium. The evening culminates in a special, traditional candlelight Pinning Ceremony. When the same students are seniors, they will be invited back for another pinning ceremony prior to graduation.

About Drew University
Drew University is a private, liberal arts university located in Madison, N.J., just 29 miles west of New York City. Ranked among the top liberal arts institutions nationwide by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes and Washington Monthly, Drew is
also listed in Princeton Review’s Best 379 Colleges. The Drew promise—We Deliver Full-Impact Learning to the World—emphasizes the university’s commitment to borderless education that enables a student’s greatest success in a globally
connected world.

Drew has a total student enrollment of more than 2,000 in three schools: the College of Liberal Arts, the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies and the Drew Theological School. The undergraduate program offers degrees in 30 different disciplines, while Caspersen and the Theological School offer degrees at the master’s and doctoral levels.

Recently, a number of national college guides highlighting Drew have landed on bookstore shelves: Princeton Review: The Best 379 Colleges, 2015 Edition; Washington Monthly’s Best Bang for the Buck list; and Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015.
In the Princeton Review, Drew was recognized for having the 7th program in the nation and prominently featured in two additional listings, the 225 Best Northeastern Schools and the Guide to 332 Green Colleges.

Information courtesy of Elizabeth Moore, Media Relations Specialist, Drew University. Photo courtesy of the Drew University Facebook page.