August 28, 2009 vol xv, number 8 Events Calendar Aug. 30 Pre-Labor Day Picnic STX Sept. 1 Student Leadership Training STX Sept. 1-2 Weight Management Workshop STT Sept. 2 Retirement Workshop STT Sept. 4-6 Volleyball Tournament STT Sept. 7 Labor Day - UVI Closed Sept. 8-9 Weight Management Workshop STT Sept. 9 Retirement Workshop STX Sept. 10 Clubs Awareness Day STX Sept 15-16 Weight Management Workshop STT Sept. 19 Coastal Clean Up STT UVI is Formally Introduced to New President K aDesha Grant sat quietly at the last table at the back of the Sports and Fitness Center for the Orientation Opening Ceremony on the St. Thomas campus on Aug. 11. She listened intently to the presentations but inter- acted very little. “I’m nervous,” the freshman said, citing the new environment and new people. “Hopefully I’ll overcome it,” Grant said, as she got up to play the “Get- ting Connected Student Bingo” offered by the Counsel- ing and Placement Offi ce. The nervousness that Grant experienced is often re- ferred to as freshman jitters and is one of the emotions that new freshmen commonly experience. Orientation week activities on the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses were designed to curb just that – as UVI offi cials welcomed students to the campuses, acquainted students with rules and regulations of the University, and allowed students to explore the campuses and network among themselves. New UVI President Dr. David Hall welcomed stu- dents to the University. “I will forever have a special bond with each of you because we are starting this journey to- gether,” Dr. Hall said at the St. Thomas campus event. “I want to do whatever I can to make sure you and I are successful in this journey.” Dr. Hall spoke to the new students about leadership. “You are doing more today than just entering college,” he said. He told the students they are entering into a cov- enant with their parents, the University and those around them to excel. Leaders, he said, are not born but are fashioned by the choices they make and the values they embrace – going against the grain and never settling for “good enough.” “You can choose to become a college stu- dent,” he said. “Or you can choose to become a leader. I need each of you to pledge this day to become a leader.” Dr. Hall told the 221 students at the event that he expects to see each of them again, in the same place, a See Orientation on next page Orientation Activities Welcome Students to UVI W hile new UVI students were transi tioning into college life, UVI was also transitioning into a new era of leadership. On the fi rst day of orientation for new students, new UVI President Dr. David Hall was for- mally introduced to the UVI community in ceremonies on the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses. Dr. Hall, UVI’s fi fth president, and his family, were formally introduced to the University on Aug. 10. Dr. Hall said he was honored to be select- ed as president of UVI. “The greatest asset of an institution is its people, and I have been ex- tremely impressed by the quality and authen- ticity of the people I have met at UVI,” Dr. Hall said. Dr. Hall noted UVI’s “special and wor- thy” mission in higher education, being the only insitution of higher learning in the terri- tory. It is important that UVI meet students’ educational needs in an excellent manner, he said. “Excellence cannot be a luxury for us; it must be our unyielding mandate.” But UVI can become more than excellent, it can be- come great, Dr. Hall added. “Excellence means that we consistently achieve and maintain the highest standards of our profession. But greatness suggests that we have become the envy of other institutions throughout the world because of our ‘distinc- tive impact,’” he said. Dr. David Hall, UVI’s fi fth president, gives in- troductory remarks on the St. Croix campus. GET CONNECTED TO UVI news, activities and accomplishments at . . . www.uvi.edu dateline: UVI 2 John Brewer’s Bay St. Thomas, VI 00802 dateline: UVI is a production of the UVI Public Rela- tions Offi ce. Contact us by telephone at 340-693-1056 or by fax at 340-693-1055. Alumni of Honor few years from now. “I want to have the honor of handing each of you your degree,” he said. “When I look into your eyes I see the future. You are the best investment we have if we want this world to change,” he said. Dr. Hall told the students he expects to see them in the days and years to come. “The place I really want to see you again is at your graduation.” The day’s events began with a breakfast with the pres- ident and included remarks from Associate Campus Ad- ministrator Dr. Doris Battiste, St. Thomas campus Stu- dent Government Association President Jaedee Caines and Acting Campus Executive Administrator LilyMae Durante. At the Offi cial Welcome on the St. Croix campus on Aug. 10, speakers included Provost Dr. Al Hassan Musah, Acting Campus Executive Administrator Nereida Wash- ington, Student Government President Jessica Taylor and Miss UVI Carice Glasgow. Professor Ricardo Caldwell was the session’s motivational speaker. The St. Croix campus also hosted the “UVI Alum- ni Giveback,” a unique part of orientation where invit- ed UVI alumni shared their experiences with incoming freshmen. Featured alumni were Col. Caroline Adams, Campbell Barnes, Sen. Louis Patrick Hill, Lydia Logie Moolenaar, Gary Moore, Carmelo Rivera, Sen. Samuel Sanes and Wendy Wheeler. Rivera’s presentation included pictures of the his- toric visits of Shirley Chisholm and Thurgood Marshall to UVI in the 1960s and 1970s. Chisholm was the fi rst African American woman elected to the US Congress and the fi rst woman candidate for the democratic nomination for presidency of the United States. Marshall was the fi rst African American Supreme Court Justice. He helped to end legal segregation in the United States. According to UVI Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Affairs Linda Smith, the event, held on Aug. 13, was a resounding success. Classes on both campuses be- gan on Aug. 17. Orientation Continued Left to right: Donnie Dorsett, Jean Forde, Terence Thomas, Winston Smith and Dr. Henry Smith were honored at the Annual Alumni Recognition Breakfast hosted by the St. Thomas/St. John Chapter of the UVI Alumni Association on Aug. 8. UVI students check out the Al- pha Kapa Alpha Sorority table at the Mini Clubs and Organiza- tions Fair on the UVI St. Croix campus. Club Hopping