Real talk: What is Convocation?

Though first-years arriving at Ohio State’s campus can attend a slew of Welcome Week events, only one serves as the university’s official greeting: Convocation.

Convocation welcomes new Buckeyes and marks the opening of the academic year, Jenny Osborn, associate director for First Year Experience in the Office of Undergraduate Education, said in an email. At Ohio State, Convocation has historically served as a bookend to commencement.

The President’s Convocation — as it is formally titled — first began in 1925, when then-university President William Oxley Thompson delivered a welcome address to first-years, according to university archives . The event was not yet called Convocation at that point, however. By 1970, Convocation and Welcome Week had become a recognizable tradition.

Convocation typically starts with an academic processional followed by a performance of the National Anthem, accompanied by the Ohio State Marching Band, Osborn said. Then, several speeches are delivered.

“It varies from year to year, but there generally are remarks from various university leaders, including the president, the senior vice president for Student Life, the president and CEO of the Alumni Association and the presidents of Undergraduate Student Government and the Council of Graduate Students,” Osborn said. “The program concludes with the singing of Carmen Ohio with the Men’s Glee Club.”

Carmen Ohio is Ohio State’s alma mater and is the university’s oldest school song still in use, according to the Songs of Ohio State University website .

Osborn said it is important for freshmen to attend Convocation because it “is one of only two times the entire class is together.”

“The second time will be the bookend of your college experience at commencement,” Osborn said. “It’s a special time when the leaders of the university speak directly to the incoming class. I also think that there’s something pretty special about singing Carmen Ohio for the first time with a group!”

Ohio State is an expansive community, and Convocation reflects that, Osborn said.

“I think that Convocation provides a sense of how big and how strong the community is that new students are joining with a focused welcome message to the university,” Osborn said. “In addition, other large-scale Welcome Week events like the Student Involvement Fair and Buck-[i]-Frenzy aim to connect students with various components of the university and broader community.”

The Student Involvement Fair, scheduled for Aug. 18, includes hundreds of Ohio State student organizations, campus departments and local nonprofits for students to connect with or learn more about, according to the Office of Student Life’s student activities website .

Buck-i-Frenzy, taking place Aug. 19, is a lifestyle festival featuring local and national companies who offer samples of their products, services, fashions, tastes and more, according to the Office of Student Life’s Buck-i-Frenzy website .

This year, Convocation will be held Aug. 19 in the Schottenstein Center, where university President Ted Carter Jr. will speak.

“We constantly are looking to see what makes sense as student and university needs change with this program,” Osborn said. “What remains the same is that Convocation welcomes our newest students into our extraordinary community of scholars at The Ohio State University.”