Catawba College officially began its 174th academic year with Commencement Convocation on Tuesday, August 20, in the Omwake Dearborn Chapel. The first day of classes was August 21.
Catawba welcomed its second-largest undergraduate class and largest graduate class in the past decade, with more than 540 new undergraduate students and over 110 graduate students (as of August 20).th.
The incoming class is made up of high-achieving students with an overall GPA of 3.68. Among the incoming students are 275 people from North Carolina, as well as students from 20 other states and 19 countries outside the United States. Approximately 149 members of the class are freshmen, the first members of their families to attend college.
At the opening assembly, President David P. Nelson shared several news from the summer, including that Catawba baseball won the Southeast Regional Championship and advanced to the National Championship Series, where it finished third in the nation. Catawba is ranked 32nd in the Learfield Cup. Catawba was named a Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. The Illumina Next Generation Sequencing Workshop and Certificate Program was held in the Bill and Shari Graham Genomics Laboratory. The National Environmental Summit was again held on campus. A 10-day Water Keeper Alliance Bootcamp was held in partnership with Communications and Environment and Sustainability. Catawba was the second recipient of $200 million in endowment funding in three years.
He also informed everyone of the bright opportunities ahead, including the renovation of the Smokestack into a student-focused space, the renovation of two residence halls (Stanback and Salisbury-Rowan), and the construction of a new 150-bed residence hall. Catawba will also implement Dreamscape Learn, an immersive learning experience that combines innovative teaching with the emotional power of cinematic storytelling.
President Nelson delivered the convocation address, reminding students of the Catawba ideal of scholarship combined with character and culture for service, and asked them what it would look like if that ideal became a part of their daily lives at Catawba College.
He explained, “Our development into a virtuous people – whether as a nation, a city, a family or a college – is the path to what Aristotle called ‘the good life.’ In the Christian faith of the founders of Catawba College, this is the path to bliss. And in the mind of the founders of our nation, this is the path to happiness. This is the path of goodness.”
“And good has a great impact,” Nelson continued. “When scholarship is cultivated on the basis of character and culture, we can give our best to the world for its good. This is the ‘what for’ of the Catawba ideal: scholarship, with character and culture, for service. For good. This is not only good for ourselves, but for our community and our world.
He concluded his speech by saying, “Let us celebrate all the good in our midst and let us resolve to do the good that is our duty. Let us have a good year, Catawba.”
Rev. Kendra Joyner-Miller (Class of ’11) led the prayer, followed by President Nelson and Dr. Monica Cowart, Executive Vice President and Provost, who installed this year’s Junior Marshals and new Student Government Association (SGA) officers. Greetings from the campus and community were delivered by Salisbury Mayor Karen Alexander, SGA President Cothren, Catawba Board President Bob Arnold (Class of ’71), Faculty Senate President Dr. ChaMarra Saner, and Staff Council President Holly Bautista.
The campus community gathered for a welcome reception outside the Corriher-Linn-Black Library following the opening assembly. The barbecue was powered entirely by solar energy and was a zero- to near-zero-waste event featuring locally produced and sustainable food.
