At Stetson Every Moment Matters

FOCUS 2013Welcome to Stetson University, academic year 2013-14!

This is a record-setting year for undergraduate enrollment at Stetson. Beginning Saturday, Aug. 17, the first day of FOCUS on the DeLand campus, Stetson will welcome the largest incoming class in the university’s history! Go Hatters!

FOCUS, which stands for “Friends On Campus Uniting Students,” is a five day comprehensive orientation program designed to help new and transfer students have a successful transition to the university. (In the photo, current students and FOCUS leaders, Gage Reed, Amanda Ponce and Raul Zambrano, are fully prepared to welcome new Hatters.)

Included in the FOCUS Orientation schedule—the five days leading up to the beginning of classes on Thursday, Aug. 22—students will be able to take care of all of their needs, such as meeting with their academic advisor, getting their student ID and parking decal, setting up their email and Internet access, and purchasing their books for class; all while meeting new people, learning their way around campus and having fun!

Saturday and Sunday are moving-in days for new Hatters. Once new students receive their informational packets in the Hollis Center beginning at 8 a.m., they will begin moving into their new living quarters for the next academic year. One hundred, sixteen students will move into the fully renovated University Hall (the former University Inn). And, because of this year’s record enrollment numbers, Stetson students will also move into renovated rooms in the Clarion Hotel, north of campus.

Every moment matters is the theme of Stetson’s OPENING CELEBRATION for 2013. “It’s not at the beginning, nor is it at the end when we find our significance,” said vice president for Student Affairs Chris Kandus-Fisher. “It’s in the collection of moments that form the foundation of our lives.”  This Celebration which will express Stetson’s values and sense of community is open to all new students and their families, faculty and staff beginning at 4:15 Saturday afternoon in the Edmunds Center. President Libby, Vice President Kandus-Fisher, and seven other individuals will share their own “Stetson Moments.” Faculty and staff are invited to sit together in reserved seats in Section 5.

CONVOCATION 2013, continues a special Hatter tradition to kick off the academic year alongside faculty and upper-class students. The entire Stetson community is invited to attend at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 21, in the Edmunds Center. Keynote speaker will be Chuck Wolfe ‘85, president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute, a nonpartisan organization that helps outstanding LGBT leaders win elections and serve effectively. His talk is entitled Authentically Stetson. At 6:30, following Convocation, faculty, staff and students are invited to a community-wide dinner with live entertainment in the CUB.

And, don’t forget, the first Stetson Hatters football game since 1957, is Saturday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. in Spec Martin Memorial Stadium, just south of downtown DeLand. We hope to see everyone there cheering the Hatters on to victory against Warner University.

GO HATTERS!