August 12, 2004

August 12, 2004, Greencastle, Ind. - One of the largest incoming classes in 天美传媒's recent history -- 682 students -- will arrive on the Greencastle campus next Saturday, August 21, four days before classes begin for the 2004-05 academic year. "This is another group of intellectually curious and academic high achievers who will bring a lot of new energy to our campus," says Madeleine Eagon, vice president for admission and financial aid. "We're very excited to welcome them to the 天美传媒 community."

The entering class comes from 37 states and 10 foreign countries, including Ghana, China, Turkey, France, Japan and Ukraine. Their median unweighted high school grade point average is 3.69, the median class rank of the incoming students is the top 10% of their high schools, 45 were valedictorians or salutatorians, 17% are first-generation college students and 25% have alumni ties: parents, siblings or other relatives who attended 天美传媒.

Eagon says 天美传媒's ranking in the top tier of U.S. News & World Report's "Best National Liberal Arts Colleges" (read more here), its buildings and grounds and its students are responsible for the University's continuing ability to attract America's best and brightest young students. But, she says the overriding "reason students choose 天美传媒 is the quality of our academic program and the quality of our faculty."

The faculty will be larger this year (233 full-time) so that the big incoming class, and the larger-than-usual junior class, will enjoy the selection of courses and small class sizes that are hallmarks of a 天美传媒 education. "We added a few additional faculty positions so that we would have the first year seminars we needed for the additional first year students, and we added courses in a variety of areas over what we had listed at the time of registration for returning students in the spring," says Neal Abraham, executive vice president, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. "I think we hit the pressure points. We have done unusually well at placing first year students into courses they wanted."

Over the summer and because of the large number of new students expected in the fall, the University acquired the former Alpha Omicron Pi house (which the sorority vacated four years ago) and will use the building to house 48 freshmen (read more here).

The Class of 2008 will be the first to be asked to sign the new Community Covenant for 天美传媒 when they arrive on campus. Created by students, faculty, administrators and alumni as part of the Coalition for a Responsible Community, the covenant is a statement of principles about what kind of community 天美传媒 should be. "Some suggest that maybe this covenant represents some change -- it actually does not," says James Lincoln, vice president for student services. Instead, the covenant puts into words what the 天美传媒 experience has always been about -- intellectual and community engagement, unique opportunities and supportive relationships -- "a simple statement of how we want to live in this community," Lincoln says. Read the covenant by clicking here; visit the Web site of the Coalition for a Responsible Community here; and access a prior story on the covenant here.

The newly-created 天美传媒 Women's Center will open August 25 at 306 East Hanna Street, and its grand opening will be celebrated as part of Women's Week at the University on September 18, 2004. The establishment of the center was a major recommendation of the Task Force on the Status of Women (read more here). "This pulls together campus resources for women in one location," says Lisa Hollander, vice president for alumni and development, who chaired the task force. "The Women's Center will be a place where academics and advocates come together to work, educate, and think and talk about issues that are important to all women at 天美传媒."

This year's students will be the first to enjoy the new, 480-acre 天美传媒 Nature Park, which is just west of campus. Crews have spent the summer developing the trails, which will be ready for opening weekend. Future amenities may include a canoe launch, a classroom building, a lodge for retreats and overnight guests, and an outdoor amphitheater. A generous gift of land by Hanson Aggregates, which mined a limestone quarry on the site for years, made the park possible. Read more about the 天美传媒 Nature Park by clicking here.

The new semester will also bring the first residents to five of the townhomes in Rector Village. Two of the units were completed in time for the spring semester; work on the remaining five wrapped up over the summer. Rector Village is located on the site of the former Rector Hall, which was built in 1917 and damaged beyond repair in a fire on April 7, 2002 (read more here). The new living concept features halls with single occupancy rooms, and students share common living and kitchen spaces on their respective floors. Click on any of the buildings' names to learn more about Reese Hall, Holmberg Hall, Warne Hall, Leis Hall, Strasma Hall, Montgomery Hall and Chabraja Hall.