Dear Williams community,
Welcome to the fall semester. Whatever your summer entailed, I hope you found opportunities for relaxation and time with loved ones. On this first day of classes I thought I’d take a moment to introduce our newest arrivals and celebrate the first day of the new academic year.
Today our community is once again enriched by the arrival of a new incoming class. This year’s entering cohort includes 548 first-years, seven transfer students and 38 new Master’s students in the Graduate Program in the History of Art and Center for Development Economics. The Master’s students come from across the U.S. and 27 countries, while the new undergraduates hail from 38 states, Puerto Rico and 59 countries. They represent 450 high schools and three community colleges, and two are arriving from military colleges. Eleven percent are international students and 42 percent are Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color (BIPOC). Fifty-five percent have qualified to receive financial aid, and 17 percent are in the first generation of their family to attend college.
Numbers aside, this cohort includes a student who founded an online bakery business; others who are nationally ranked in chess, debate, tennis and synchronized figure skating; a stilt-walker, a pit band accordionist, the founder of a singing bowl society, a Grammy-award winning musician and someone who has made 11,100 boba drinks through their job at a local boba shop! I love learning about the interests, talents and life stories of our incoming students each year. All of our new arrivals, undergraduates and Master’s students alike, reached Williams after persevering in their studies through the pandemic. The undergraduates also conducted their college search in the wake of the Supreme Court’s impactful decision on admissions practices and amidst an especially flawed FAFSA rollout. All in all, they’re a wonderfully qualified, varied and resilient group!
I also want to welcome our many new faculty and staff colleagues, who secured your places here through your own distinctive achievements. I encourage you to get to know all of our newest community members and make them feel at home.
Early next week I’ll send out an administrative message to catch everyone up on college news from the last few months and preview some of the programming scheduled for this fall. You’ll also find posters around campus that preview many start-of-year events. If you enjoy ceremony and community, one especially nice way to start the year is to attend the 2024 Convocation Ceremony and Bicentennial Awards, to be held at 11 AM this Saturday in Chapin Hall.
I look forward to meeting those of you who are joining Williams this fall, and welcoming back returning students, faculty and staff. For all of you, may today begin a new year of pursuing knowledge and experience; of personal growth and a search for mutual understanding; of joy alongside deep care for others. Whatever your role, I hope your experiences at Williams stimulate your curiosity, and help you reflect on the possibilities available to us as individuals, community members and constituents of a vibrant, challenging world.
With best wishes for the first day and beyond,
Maud