SPARTANBURG, S.C. – As a newcomer himself, Wofford College’s new provost, Dr. Mike Sosulski, helped welcome the Class of 2020 as they moved onto campus Wednesday (Aug. 31), ready to begin their college careers.

Sosulski was joined by President Nayef Samhat, along with members of the Wofford Orientation Staff and athletics teams, faculty and staff as they swarmed the new students’ cars, vans and U-Hauls to help them unload and move into their residence halls.

“I have been welcomed with open arms myself since I officially started my position on July 1, so I wanted to be here to greet these eager new students to the Wofford campus so they can feel the warmth of friendship and acceptance I have found already,” Sosulski says.

Members of the Class of 2020 checked in and began moving into their residence halls early Wednesday, and the day was filled with hustle and bustle, meeting new friends – maybe even a roommate they’ve never met before – and getting a lay of the land at Wofford.

Classes for the 2016-17 academic year begin on Monday, Sept. 5.

Opening orientation session for the first-year students and their parents was held Wednesday afternoon on the front lawn of Main Building, and the new students met with their academic advisers, enjoyed a picnic dinner with their fellow newcomers and families, and sampled dessert with the president and his wife before saying goodbye to their parents.

On Thursday, first-year students were set to travel to Camp Greystone in Tuxedo, N.C., for the annual Summit adventure orientation filled with swimming, canoeing and other activities. Other orientation activities were scheduled throughout the week on campus.

Included was the Class of 2020 photograph and the annual Stop Hunger Now service project on Sunday, Sept. 4, where the students were packaging some 25,000 nutritionally supplemented meals to go to high-need locations around the world, such as Haiti. This is the sixth year the incoming class has participated in this project.

Here are some important dates for the opening of the fall 2016 semester:

Wednesday, Aug. 31
First-year and transfer resident students move in and opening session


Thursday, Sept. 1
First-year student orientation continues, including The Summit at Camp Greystone in Tuxedo, N.C.

Friday, Sept. 2
First-year student orientation continues, including Field Day Competition and the men's soccer game vs. Gardner-Webb

Saturday, Sept. 3
First-year student orientation continues

Sunday, Sept. 4
Class of 2020 photograph, followed by the First Service of Worship, and the Class of 2020 Service Project, Stop Hunger Now

Monday, Sept. 5
8:30 a.m. – Classes begin

Tuesday, Sept. 6
11 a.m. – Opening Convocation, Leonard Auditorium, Main Building. Featured speaker, Thomas Pierce, 2006 Wofford graduate and noted author

Last year, the New York Times called author Pierce’s short story collection “Hall of Small Mammals” “beautifully built” and said Pierce “has an especially deft way of finding just the right final flourish.” His “originality, inventiveness, questing spiritual intelligence and animal fixation aren’t easy to do justice to in the limited space here,” wrote Books of The Times reviewer Janet Maslin. “But they’re irrefutably good reasons to discover him for yourself.” Pierce’s short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Oxford American, Subtropics and elsewhere. He has reported for National Geographic and for NPR programs, including “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.” Born and raised in South Carolina, he received history and English degrees from Wofford and earned his M.F.A. from the University of Virginia as a Poe/Faulkner Fellow. While at Wofford, Pierce was the 2004-05 Presidential International Scholar and authored “said the dark fishes,” winner of the Benjamin Wofford Prize for fiction writing. He also received NPR’s prestigious Joan B. Kroc Fellowship, an intensive training program designed to bring exceptional graduates into public radio and journalism. Following the fellowship, he stayed on as a producer, blogger and reporter. “Hall of Small Mammals” was published in 2015 by Riverhead Books. Pierce and his wife and daughter live in Charlottesville, Va. The event is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, Sept. 13
11 a.m. – Topping Out Ceremony, Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts. Lunch on the lawn to follow.

Tuesday, Sept. 27
11 a.m. – Topping Out Ceremony, Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Lunch at construction site to follow.