McDaniel College is welcoming nearly 500 incoming freshmen and transfer students to campus on Thursday, Aug. 20, for move-in and orientation, kicking off a weekend of traditions ahead of the start of fall classes, according to a news release issued this week by the Westminster-based college.
Move-in and orientation run from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday, according to a media and traffic advisory the college issued Aug. 12. Vehicles will enter campus from the West Main Street entrance, where students check in and pick up their dorm room keys from the Gill Center, the advisory said.
The college is putting a one-way traffic pattern in place entering campus from West Main Street at the stadium entrance, starting before 9 a.m. Thursday, according to the advisory. The best way onto campus is from West Main Street off Md. 140 and Route 31, the advisory said, noting that no one will be able to enter campus from Pennsylvania Avenue during the pattern.
Some students moved in earlier than the rest of the incoming class. Football players reported Monday, Aug. 10, and other fall athletes, including men's and women's soccer, field hockey, volleyball, and men's and women's cross country, moved in Monday, Aug. 17, according to the advisory.
Class of 2030 by the numbers
The college received more than 5,800 applications for the incoming class, according to McDaniel. The Class of 2030 includes students from 20 states plus Washington, D.C., the college said, listing Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
Eight countries are represented in the incoming class based on citizenship, according to the college: Barbados, Cameroon, Canada, India, Nigeria, Spain, Tanzania and the United States. The class also includes graduates of 257 high schools and 13 community colleges, McDaniel said.
Forty-eight incoming first-year students are from Carroll County, according to the college, including 15 inaugural Carroll County Scholars among 79 graduates of that program.
Incoming freshmen are being housed in Rouzer Hall and Whiteford Hall, with some first-year students also placed in Daniel MacLea Hall, according to the college.
New nursing center and renovated Merritt Hall
This fall marks the first class of students in McDaniel's Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, who will begin classes at the new McDaniel College Kahlert Nursing Education Center at LifeBridge Health's Carroll Hospital, located at 200 Memorial Avenue in Westminster, according to the college. The facility includes classrooms, labs and offices, and the college said it is designed to let undergraduate nursing students learn alongside practicing nurses and doctors in a hospital setting.
On campus, the college has completed a renovation of Merritt Hall to accommodate new master's degree programs in occupational therapy and speech-language pathology, according to McDaniel. Merritt Hall also houses the college's education and psychology departments, the college said.
Move-in traditions this weekend, including Westminster Welcome
Move-in traditions continue into the weekend. Incoming students will "ring in" their time at McDaniel by ringing the Old Main bell in Memorial Plaza at approximately 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, following an Introduction Convocation welcoming the Class of 2030 at 3:30 p.m., according to the college.
On Saturday, Aug. 22, students will take part in the Westminster Welcome, where the college said they will be officially greeted by representatives of the City of Westminster and have a chance to explore downtown businesses and restaurants.
McDaniel President Julia Jasken will lead students on a walk from campus through Ward Memorial Arch, starting at 10 a.m., to the Carroll County Public Library's Westminster Branch at 50 E. Main St., according to the college. Jasken and Westminster Mayor Mona Becker are expected to give brief remarks at approximately 10:30 a.m., the college said.
Returning sophomores, juniors and seniors move back to campus Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22-23, and classes for all students begin Monday, Aug. 24, according to the college.
McDaniel College, founded in 1867, is a four-year independent college of the liberal arts and sciences with 1,600 undergraduate and 1,400 graduate students offering more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs, according to the college.
Photo: from McDaniel College Facebook post.