FRESHMAN CONVOCATION KICKS OFF ACTIVITIES FOR NEW, RETURNING STUDENTS AUG. 25

Classes begin on Saturday, but the slew of activities on campus begins Sunday, Aug. 25, with Freshman Convocation, the formal introduction to Old Dominion for new students, which will be held at 6 p.m. on Kaufman Mall. The rain site will be in the Webb University Center cafeterias.

President Roseann Runte will address the students, who will be able to sign a memory book, a new tradition. Pages will be bound together and saved for review when they graduate. Students also will receive a copy of the Monarch Creed. Nearly 1,700 invitations were mailed out for this year's event.

For the fourth year in a row, Marlon Smith, founder and president of the educational consulting firm Success by Choice, will be the featured speaker.

For more information, call 683-3446.

For more information on other campus events this fall, visit the online calendar of events at http://web.odu.edu/webroot/orgs/IA/faculty_expertise.nsf/pages/calendar_of_events. The calendar also can be accessed via the daily news Web site (www.odu.edu/news) and clicking the "calendar of events" link in the column on the left. For a printed calendar, call the Office of University Relations at 683-3114.