TCNJ welcomes class of 2010, new faculty

To the average TCNJ visitor on August 24, the campus must have been the epitome of that old “duck-swimming-on-a-pond” cliché – things look smooth and steady on top, but only thanks to the nonstop effort taking place below the surface.

Along with parents and friends, community advisers, ambassadors, and various other upper class students and staff members hurriedly carried refrigerators, luggage, and boxes up endless flights of stairs and helped direct traffic around the Travers/Wolfe and Cromwell complexes in the rear of campus as the members of the class of 2010 set up shop at TCNJ.

Moving in all the necessary gear was just a small detail that needed to be attended to before the big show started – Welcome Week 2006: Get in the Mix!

Designed to introduce students to each other and the many opportunities the College provides, Welcome Week gives students a taste of academic life with summer reading discussions, social life with team-building activities like PlayFair, community outreach opportunities (this year, a record number of students participated in the Walk-a-thon for Special Olympics), and familiarity with the range of services offered on campus. Students enjoyed activities including a flag football tournament, a TCNJ Idol Competition, and a "Dive-In Movie,” and were actively engaged in workshops on topics such as substance abuse, sexual assault, and healthy living on campus.

Students were also welcomed by James Norfleet, newly appointed vice president of student life, at his keynote speech urging students to take responsibility for themselves in their newfound freedom and solve their problems independently and maturely. President R. Barbara Gitenstein also welcomed the entire campus community to the start of the new academic year at Convocation. To read her Welcome Back address, please click here. To hear Dr. Gitenstein's opening remarks, click here for the Webcast.

The largest freshman class in more than a decade, the class of 2010 brings with them superior academics, unique extracurricular activities, and a wealth of diversity. Boasting average SAT scores of 1306 and an average class rank in the top seven percent for the generally admitted, a record-setting 35 percent of first-year students self-reported as “non-white.”

Class members include a five-time Irish Dancing National Champion, a Puerto Rican National Figure Skating Championship participant, the recipient of the 2005 Governor’s Award for Volunteerism, and a founder of Love4Books, a non-profit organization that provides schools and libraries with illustrated classic literature.

Not without mention are the new faculty additions for the 2006-2007 academic year. Please join us in welcoming the more than 25 new faculty members to our community of learners and leaders. Click here for a list of new faculty members.