Westminster sets opening convocation

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — Westminster College will welcome the class of 2011 with the traditional opening convocation at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Orr Auditorium.

Approximately 340 new students arriving on campus Friday morning will be greeted by about 75 Fresh Start upperclassmen, wearing tye-dye shirts. The Fresh Start staff and members of the football team will help the new freshmen and their parents unload belongings into the residence halls.

After lunch is served, the students and their parents are invited to attend the convocation ceremony.

The program will be followed by a president’s reception, after which the students will be divided among the Fresh Start volunteers, who will serve as group leaders for the next week as the students become familiar with the campus and college routines.

Westminster, founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is ranked among national leaders in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America’s Best Colleges. It is also honored as one of “The Best 361 Colleges” and “Best in the Northeast” by The Princeton Review, and was recognized by the Templeton Guide as a “Character Building College.”

Westminster has an enrollment of nearly 1,600 students and offers 41 majors.