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Campus Update: It's graduation week!
May 24, 2023
🎓 Graduation week is here!
Friday, May 26
2:30 p.m. Master's Hooding Ceremony
4 p.m. Senior Departmental Honors Celebration
6 p.m. Senior Send-Off → Graduates and their guests are invited to a festive evening of food, music and fun! Graduating seniors get three free tickets. Faculty and staff can get tickets here.
Saturday, May 27
10 a.m. The Blessing of the Graduates: A Baccalaureate
2 p.m. 163rd Commencement Convocation
Reminders:
- Graduates must be at the Vibrant Arena conference center by 1:15 p.m.
- Noisemakers, balloons and bags larger than 5"x7"x2" are not allowed in the Vibrant Arena.
- No tickets are required for the commencement ceremony.
- A livestream of the ceremony can be accessed from the Augustana homepage.
💛 An Augie legacy
Rebecca Smuck '23 is the 14th member of her family to graduate from Augustana, and her graduation this weekend coincides with the 100th anniversary of her great-grandmother's graduation.
She worked with Special Collections and the Copy Center to design and print her graduation cap, which showcases her family's Augustana grads.
📰 Headlines
- How Augustana students plan and run an international conference (pictured)
- Augustana to recognize 624 graduates May 27
- Augustana, Rock Island break ground on Lincoln Park tennis complex
📢 Leadership updates
- Dr. Monica Smith, Augustana College's first vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, has been picked to serve the University of Wisconsin System's 13 institutions. A search for her replacement has begun. Her last day on campus is June 3.
- Kent Barnds, who headed enrollment and fundraising, is transitioning to a new role as executive vice president for strategy and innovation. Barnds will continue his role in Admissions, and a search for a new VP for Advancement will commence soon.
- Dr. Wendy Hilton-Morrow, who has served as provost since 2018, is transitioning back to teaching. She will take a one-year sabbatical and then be back in the classroom in the fall of 2024. Dr. Dianna Shandy was chosen to be Augustana's next provost.
💙 Shoutout to the Class of 2023!
Hey Class of 2023!
Did you know? A flag commemorating your achievements and upcoming graduation is flying in your honor in front of the Lindberg Center. Check it out!
☀️ Summer schedule
This will be the last Campus Update of the school year. The newsletter will resume in September.
Have a wonderful summer!