Lots of Campus Misc

Today has been an absolutely glorious weather day.  It was nice and cool in the morning, still sunny, but not too hot.  Yesterday I got my first glimpse of the leaves on the campus trees starting to change colors (and some were even falling in the breeze). For those students who are upperclassmen/women, they will know of the stunningly brilliant fall season we have on campus.  For our new students, they’ll have to wait and see.

Speaking of fall foliage, we tend to peak toward the end of October, so for Family Weekend you might not see Mother So Dear in her full glory, but that’s where the Quad Cam can hook you up with the later fall views.

This morning I was at a meeting with a wide variety of campus offices represented. Part of the roundtable was to talk about things coming up on campus. Here are some select highlights of things I don’t think I have previously mentioned.

Via the Chaplain’s office:  Wake is going to get a Peace Pole.  I had not known of the tradition, but you can read a little bit about it on Wikipedia if you choose.  The Peace Pole is going to be dedicated on September 28th at noon outside of Wait Chapel. This is going to be a “moveable feast” (nerd English major alert: one of my favorite Hemingway sayings!) so it will be able to go to different parts of campus. The Chaplain’s office has also started hosting Prayers of the People in Davis Chapel on Wednesdays. These are led in different faith traditions.

Via the Office of Student Engagement: Character Day is going to be held on September 22nd.  This is a global initiative where groups around the world raise awareness about character development.  We’re still early on the details, but it looks like there will be a variety of opportunities for students to engage. There are some great global livecasts from tremendous speakers, including Angela Duckworth of the Grit book that has gotten a great deal of acclaim. More to come as I hear.

Also on September 22nd is Arrive and Thrive, which will feature a ton of activities and fun stations for your students to experience the eight dimensions of Wellbeing.  This is always such a good event – food and fellowship and a reminder that we all need to take care of our whole selves (not just worry about academics, etc.)

Finally, today is the Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival, and for many who live in China and surrounding countries, this is a special day. To all our students and families celebrating, we wish you a very happy Mid-Autumn Festival!