Celebration 2016 to mark development of Lee's south campus
Source: Lee University Office of Publications
This week campus will be buzzing with seminars, well-known speakers and other activities for Celebration on Friday, Sept. 30.
The celebration will honor the development of the southern end of campus, the fifth year of the "Find us Faithful" campaign and Dr. Paul Conn's 30th year as president of the university.
Activities will begin this Friday from 9 to 10 a.m. with seminars from 35 guests, including The Voice's season nine winner Jordan Smith, Star Wars sound engineer Ben Burtt and Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell. A schedule of speakers, topics and locations can be found on the Lee University website.
Students who attend the seminars will be excused from their morning classes.
Vice President for Information Services Jayson VanHook encourages students to attend these unique presentations.
“We have church leaders, artists, people from all disciplines," VanHook said. "Seminars are a time where we can do something different and special as students get to hear from people who are well known in their field and are doing something that may be of interest."
Additionally, the Ceremony of Celebration, "the core event for all celebrations", will take place in the Conn Center at 10:30 a.m., according to VanHook. This event is by invitation only but will also be live-streamed at the Dixon Center.
The Conn Center will be transformed into a festive venue for the ceremony. Faculty will be dressed in their regalia and will march with representatives from the past 60 graduating classes from the Conn Center to the Ped Mall. A "human wall" of students will extend the length of this march.
The Celebration Reception will take place from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Ped Mall, according to Lee's website. There will also be an open house at the School of Nursing building during this time.
“The School of Nursing building is something we’ve been dreaming about for years and years," VanHook said. "To see that building come out of the ground, all the technology that’s in it, the faculty that’s been assembled and the students that choose Lee as their place to study is worth celebrating."
Student Halle Camilleri is looking forward to being a part of the Celebration events this week.
“It’s a really cool time to celebrate the history of our university and the people who gave for that," Camilleri said. "It matters to celebrate people giving.”
Throughout the week there will also be festivities in celebration of Conn’s 30th anniversary at Lee, which VanHook says is a rare and exciting achievement.
“It’s highly unusual for a president of a university to serve 10 years or 20 years, so 30 years is exceptional. There are so many people who recognize the transformation of Lee’s campus since 1986," VanHook said. "Obviously this is a nice time to reflect on much more than the last two years, but the whole 30 years. There’s definitely a reason why people are excited about this one."
There will be a Celebration Chapel on Thursday, Sept. 29, as the focus will be students celebrating the anniversary. VanHook said this chapel will have a different atmosphere and will be a fun student-led celebration of the Conns.
Following the chapel will be a student party with Dr. and Mrs. Conn on the Science and Math Complex lawn from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Classes will not be cancelled, but students are encouraged to come before or after class.
