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Wilkes University Welcomes Students For 87th Academic Year

First-year students move in starting at 8 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 23

Wilkes-Barre, PA (08/22/2019) — Wilkes University welcomes students to campus for its 87th academic year during Welcome Weekend from Aug. 23 to 25. The weekend of events is a prelude to the start of classes on Monday, Aug. 26.

Welcome Weekend

Move-in day and First-Year Foundations Convocation for first-year and transfer students will be held on Friday, Aug. 23. Students begin moving in as early as 8 a.m. and continue throughout the day. Upperclassmen move in on Saturday and Sunday.

The convocation at 3 p.m. on Friday formally welcomes new students to the academic life of the University culminating in an address by interim President Paul S. Adams. Speakers also include Terese Wignot, interim provost and senior vice president, Alanah Guerrero, student government president and Leslie Lopez, sophomore education major. It will be held in the Arnaud C. Marts Center on South Franklin Street.

In a new Wilkes tradition that started in 2018, convocation will begin with a procession of first-year students from the McHale Athletic Center at University Center on Main through the Campus Gateway to the Marts Center. This symbolic procession is reversed when students cross the commencement stage after their time at Wilkes has concluded. The procession will depart the McHale Athletic Center around 2:40 p.m.

The New Class

Wilkes' Class of 2023 and 2025 has approximately 570 new students. The incoming class represents students from 20 states and 12 countries. In addition, 82 transfer students and more than 400 new graduate students will attend the University. This brings the total number of students enrolled in all of Wilkes' programs to approximately 4,600.

Additional highlights from the first-year class:

  • Fifty-two students are in the Wilkes honors program.
  • Eighteen students will join Wilkes EDGE, a program designed to help first-year students transition to college life.
  • Nearly half are the first in their families to pursue a four-year degree.
  • More than 200 new students are athletes, bringing the total number of student-athletes to 550.

In addition, 16 new faculty members in fields that include gaming and virtual design, nursing, pharmacy, political science, management and music will also mark their first semester at Wilkes.

Campus Enhancements

Students will return to significant progress on Bruggeworth Field at the Ralston Athletic Complex. Work continues on the new, multi-purpose field that centralizes athletic competitions on turf fields that can withstand changing weather conditions. It allows more teams to simultaneously compete and will be used for men's and women's soccer, men's and women's lacrosse and women's field hockey. It also includes a new turf baseball field, press boxes, spectator areas and a scoreboard. A formal dedication will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5 in conjunction with Homecoming weekend.

Students will also return to new sidewalks, landscaping and streetlights on South Main Street. This work continues the University's Neighborhood Enhancement Project geared to create an attractive and walkable downtown for students, faculty and staff.

About Wilkes University

Wilkes University is a private, independent, non-sectarian institution of higher education dedicated to academic and intellectual excellence through mentoring in the liberal arts, sciences and professional programs. Founded in 1933, Wilkes is on a mission to create one of the nation's finest doctoral universities, offering all of the programs, activities and opportunities of a large university in the intimate, caring and mentoring environment of a small college, open to all who show promise. The Economist named Wilkes 25th in the nation for the value of its education for graduates. In addition to 46 majors, Wilkes offers 24 master's degree programs and five doctoral/terminal degree programs, including the doctor of philosophy in nursing, doctor of nursing practice, doctor of education, doctor of pharmacy, and master of fine arts in creative writing. Learn more at www.wilkes.edu.

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