Convocation will conclude with a recessional down George Street through Porter’s Lodge to the Cistern yard in front of Randolph Hall.

• Featured Convocation Speaker: Dava Sobel , author of the common reading book

• The book will be distributed to incoming students at Orientation sessions in June and July. It will be mailed to students registered for the August Orientation session, with the exception of international students. Because of the time it takes for international mailings, books for international students will be held in the International Studies Office until their arrival. A convocation fee will appear on each student's bill.

Schedule of Activities for convocation, 2008

Check here periodically for related activities throughout the school year.

Have questions about Convocation?

For more information, contact the Office of New Student Programs (843) 953-2017 or the Office of Academic Affairs (843) 953-5527.

Past Convocations

Convocation 2007
Featured Convocation Speaker: Bret Lott , author of the Convocation book Jewel. A reading guide for Jewel by Bret Lott, may be downloaded as an Adobe PDF.

Convocation 2006
Featured Convocation Speaker: Geraldine Brooks , author of the Convocation book and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist. A reading guide for Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks, may be downloaded as an Adobe PDF.

The special guest speaker at the 2006 Convocation was J. Chadwick Davis, Class of 1956. To download a copy of his speech (PDF format), click here.

Convocation 2005
Jennet Robinson Alterman, former Peace Corps member in Afghanistan and country director in Africa was our speaker. A reading guide for River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler may be downloaded as an Adobe PDF.

Convocation 2004
Dr. Charles Johnson , Professor at the University of Washington, noted scholar of African-American literature and 1998 MacArthur Fellow. A reading guide for "Middle Passage," by Charles Johnson, may be downloaded as an Adobe PDF

A special issue of Colophon (the English Graduate Students web publication) focusing on Middle Passage

Books by and about Charles Johnson

Middle Passage Research Guide -- a collection of relevant research databases and web sites

Convocation 2003
Steve Olson, "The Great Wide Open". A reading guide for "Mapping Human History: Genes, Race and Our Common Origins," by Steve Olson, may be downloaded as an Adobe PDF.

Convocation 2002
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, "The Demise of Fact in Political Debate". A reading guide for "Everything You Think You Know About Politics... and Why You're Wrong", by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, may be downloaded as an Adobe PDF.