UNCA Classes Begin August 20;
Community Service Day Set for August 18

UNC Asheville is gearing up for fall semester, with freshmen orientation beginning Saturday, Aug. 16, transfer student orientation beginning Tuesday, Aug. 19, and classes beginning Wednesday, Aug. 20. UNCA is expecting about 615 new freshmen, the largest class in UNCA history.

A highlight of orientation will be a formal convocation ceremony for students and their families at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, on the main Quadrangle. Margaret Downes, the 2003 recipient of the Award for Excellence in Teaching from the University of North Carolina’s Board of Governors, will give the keynote address. Downes, who joined UNCA in 1981 as a professor in the Literature and Language Department, is a noted campus leader in the classroom, among faculty and further afield in the U.S. and abroad.

Freshmen will be introduced to UNCA’s culture of community service through a massive community work day on Monday, Aug. 18. This seventh annual "Bulldog Day: A Time of Service" will send some 700 UNCA students, faculty and staff to 33 service projects in the Asheville community.

Freshmen will be able to check into residence halls on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 16, and returning students will be able to move back in August 18-19. UNCA Alumni Association members, faculty and staff will be on hand both days to help students and their parents with the move.

Evening events, designed to introduce new students to campus life, include a talk by motivational speaker Paul Wesselman and a movie screening on Saturday, Aug. 16; a game show-style competition on Sunday, Aug. 17; and a performance by Gary Gulman and a game night on Monday, Aug. 18.

For more information, call the University at 828/251-6600.

Media Contacts:

• Merianne Epstein, UNCA Public Information Director, 828/251-6676