From 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Thursday, August 22, UMD welcomes its newest Bulldogs to campus. Move In Day is the official start of Bulldog Welcome Week, and it happens in front of Lake Superior Hall and Griggs Hall, 508 Niagara Court.
Chancellor Lendley (Lynn) Black and his leadership team will join current students in welcoming the incoming students and their families.
“As we welcome more than 2,400 first-year and transfer students to campus on Thursday, and welcome back over 6,400 returning undergraduates on Monday, we’re renewing our commitment to supporting their success within this exceptional community of learners, educators, and scholars,” says Chancellor Black.
Food tents and KUMD Radio will be set up for families to enjoy at Griggs Beach, which is actually a grassy area behind Lake Superior Hall.
Director of Housing and Residence Life Jeremy Leiferman says in total 2,062 new students and 844 returning students are moving in to UMD’s residence halls and apartments.
Construction of a new residence hall and dining facility, designed to add more living space to campus, is scheduled to begin in May 2020 and open in the fall of 2021.
A Warm Welcome… Reshaped
After years of the same schedule, this year’s Welcome Week is reshaped to better fit the incoming Bulldogs’ desire for a less intense experience.
What was a week filled with non-stop mandatory activities is now four days of orientations with plenty of breaks.
“We’re offering more free time and choice for students this year,” explains Emily Borra, coordinator of new student activities and student development. “This generation is looking for more one-on-one connections, so we made this a priority.”
Key events include:
Move-In Day
Thursday, August 22, 2019
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Lake Superior and Griggs Hall, 508 Niagara Court
Free Store
Thursday, August 22, 2019
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Heaney Service Center, Room 112
1315 Maplewood Court
Family Send-off Event: Football Scrimmage & BBQ
Thursday, August 22, 2019
4 - 6 p.m.
Malosky Stadium / Griggs Field
1336 University Drive
Bulldog Scramble
Thursday, August 22, 2019
9 - 10:30 p.m.
Griggs Field
1336 University Drive
Campus Treasure Hunt
Friday, August 23, 2019
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
All around campus
Chancellor's Welcome & All-Student Photo
Friday, August 23, 2019
2:30 - 4 p.m.
Malosky Stadium / Griggs Field
1336 University Drive
Duluth Rocks!
Saturday, August 24, 2019
2:30 - 6 p.m.
All around the city of Duluth
Seminar Class Service Project
Sunday, August 25, 2019
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
All around the city of Duluth
Volleyball Scrimmage & Lunch
Sunday, August 25, 2019
12 - 2 p.m.
Romano Gymnasium
1216 Ordean Court
Also new this year, Welcome Week is expanding into the school year with Welcome Back Week– August 26 through September 3, 2019.
Things like ‘Superior Dining Center hacks’ and ‘how to ride the Duluth bus’ are taught to new and returning students. “Our goal is to continue to build communities that will endure throughout their UMD experience,” says Borra.
The first day of class is August 26, 2019.
Meet the Bulldogs
Official enrollment numbers are available two weeks after the University of Minnesota Twin Cities’s first day of class, but here’s a preliminary look at Duluth’s newest Bulldogs:
Undergraduate 8,920 (2018 – 9,109)
Graduate 674 (2018 – 682)
Non-degree and professional 1,240 (2018 – 1,249)
Total estimated campus enrollment 10,830 (2018– 11,040)
“The quality of our new student class this year is excellent, but as sometimes happens within the cycle of undergraduate enrollment, we are experiencing a decline in new student enrollment this fall,” says Chancellor Black.
Black contributes this to greater competition from private and public institutions both within and outside Minnesota and fewer transfer students within the community college pipeline. "We projected this decline in new students and are focusing additional resources and new strategies towards retaining and successfully graduating students in a timely manner."
The incoming freshmen are high achievers– with an average grade point average of 3.55 and an average ACT composite score of 24.
The students are coming to Duluth from Minnesota, Wisconsin, 21 other states and 10 countries.
