‘Welcome to Your University’

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Welcome Week. Orientation group, 1971, University of Minnesota Archives Photograph Collection

In 1947, the formerly known, “Freshman Week” was transformed into what is now known as Welcome Week for all incoming freshmen and new students. Under the direction of the Dean of Students and Orientation Office, Welcome Week was organized to help acquaint these students “with the University, its organizations and activities during the week preceding the opening of the fall quarter” ⁽¹⁾.

That same school year, the University of Minnesota welcomed 8,000 students to campus (2). They all gathered in Northrop Auditorium for a convocation opening the week long events. This was then followed by streetcar tours of Minneapolis and St. Paul, organization orientations, a coffee hour, open houses for departments and colleges, a style show and picnics ⁽¹⁾. They ended the week with a pep rally and a Welcome Week dance hosted in the University’s Armory, where Kitty Colby was named Miss Welcome ⁽²⁾.

A Welcome Week button was required by all freshmen or new students as a way to not only signify their status on campus, but to also participate in the scheduled events ⁽¹⁾. The two and a half inch button became an item to purchase, as a way to financially support the Welcome Week committee through the scheduled activities ⁽³⁾.

Welcome Week, 1949, University of Minnesota Archives Photograph Collection

These events were soon listed in publications distributed on campus and included the New Student Handbooks, as well as the student newspaper, The Minnesota Daily. There was even a special Welcome Week issue where campus resources were listed, along with the schedule to the week-long events.

Welcome Week. Freshmen with ice cream sodas, 1956, University of Minnesota Archives Photograph Collection
“Welcome to New Students:

This is your University – rich in resources for your personal and intellectual development and dedicated to the advancement of learning, the search for truth and the welfare of the state.

We of the faculty and staff welcome you cordially to the University, its noble traditions and its boundless opportunities. We urge that you avail yourselves fully of the means to competence and culture that await you here, provided generously by the people of Minnesota.” – President J. L. Morrill ⁽³⁾

Welcome Week. Students, 1956, University of Minnesota Archives Photograph Collection

Between 1949 to 1952, the average number of students who attended the first convocation for Welcome Week fluctuated between 900 students in 1949 to 1,200 students in 1952 ⁽⁴⁾. This program was created to help inform students about their upcoming curriculum and provide helpful tools on how to study successfully ⁽⁴⁾. Sound recordings of these speeches and presentations have been digitized and include the ‘Convocation by Ralph Nader’ from the 1970 Welcome Week events, as well as the ‘Speech at Welcome Week banquet, Coffman Union, by James Lewis Morrill’ from the 1952 Welcome Week events.

Photography of Welcome Week queen candidates, The Gopher, Volume 77, 1964, pg. 35

In 1951, the addition of Parents’ Day as an event during Welcome Week began and soon became a highlight amongst yearly programming ⁽⁴⁾. Additional alterations to the week-long events included a two-day orientation session prior to the beginning of Welcome Week. By the 1960s these sessions were a way to introduce freshmen, transfer and new students to the University Health Service, meet with their chosen college, get their photo taken for their campus I.D. card, take any necessary placement tests, learn about military and special programming, and meet with their advisor ⁽⁵⁾.

Welcome Week continued to precede the fall semester into the 1970s, but also began to emulate the current structure that we know today. The programs included tours of the library, study skill workshops, activity fairs featuring student organizations and informational gatherings on campus services and academic departments ⁽⁶⁾. One difference made between decades was that now students were not admitted for free with a purchase of a Welcome Week button, rather, they had a reduced admission fee upon attending any events ⁽⁶⁾.

Welcome Week. Reading Maps, 1971, University of Minnesota Archives Photograph Collection

A highlight of Welcome Week in the late 1970s was the Pep Fest. In conjunction with the Athletic department and the University of Minnesota’s Pep Band, all students were welcome to participate to cheer on the Golden Gopher football players prior to their football game and to heighten school spirit.

Cheerleaders at Welcome Week Pepfest, 1977, University of Minnesota Archives Photograph Collection

The Orientation Office continued to oversee the Welcome Week programming up until 1990, when it changed to the New Student Programs under the direction of the Office of Admissions ⁽⁷⁾. And in 1992, Welcome Week was renamed as Campus Kick-off, but included similar events from years past ⁽⁸⁾. In the Fall of 2005, Campus Kick-off became a mandatory program for all freshmen and new students needed to participate in ⁽⁹⁾. After well over a decade known as Campus Kick-off or Campus Kick-off Days, the orientation program was reinstated as Welcome Week under the direction of the Orientation and First Year Programs in 2008 ⁽¹⁰⁾.

University of Minnesota Band at Welcome Week Pepfest, 1977, University of Minnesota Archives Photograph Collection

Today, Welcome Week continues its run as an all-campus effort towards introducing new students to the University of Minnesota. Now under the direction of the Orientation and Transition Experience within the Office of Undergraduate Education, Welcome Week continues to be a “week-long event that focuses on building community, navigating campus, taking part in traditions, and preparing for the semester ahead” ⁽¹¹⁾. Events such as a Community Meeting and Your Gopher Experience, New Student Convocation, College Day and Explore U are amongst the mandatory events that students need to be present at.

With its long history, Welcome Week looks to be a tradition that the University of Minnesota will continue to implement as a way to welcome new incoming Gophers for years to come. To see more of this history, through past Welcome Day designs and photographs, check out the University of Minnesota Archives’ booth during the Campus Exploration Fair on Friday, August 30th from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm on the Northrop Mall Lawns. See you there!