The annual rite of fall begins as new students move to Cottey College and Nevada. First-year students begin arriving Friday, August 18, followed shortly thereafter by the arrival of the second-, third-, and fourth-year students on Sunday, August 20. The citizens of Nevada and surrounding communities are to be advised of the increase in pedestrian traffic on Austin Boulevard and are asked to exercise caution.

Orientation activities will include a Community Dinner and Partner Fair at the Franklin P. Norman Community Center, from 6-8 p.m., Saturday, August 19. The Community Dinner and Partner Fair, which is funded by a grant through Missouri Campus Compact, allows students to become familiar with area businesses and churches as well as service organizations and clubs that would like to recruit students for volunteer opportunities, service learning projects, local internships, and undergraduate research. Businesses, churches, and civic organizations are encouraged to showcase their products and services through displays, promotional materials, samples, giveaways, and demonstrations.

For more information on Cottey volunteers and interns or to register for the 2017 Community Dinner and Partner Fair, contact Renee Hampton, coordinator for career planning and experiential learning, at 667-6333, ext. 2184, or email rhampton@cottey.edu. The registration deadline is Wednesday, August 16, at 5 p.m.

Classes will begin on Tuesday, August 22.

Opening Convocation will be held at 7 p.m., Monday, August 28, in the Haidee and Allen Wild Center for the Arts Auditorium. Dr. Ann Pendergast, Cottey Class of 1977, will be the honored speaker at Opening Convocation. Immediately following Dr. Pendergast’s address, students will participate in one of the oldest traditions on campus, the Signing of the Cottey Book.

Dr. Pendergast is currently the Anthony R. Means Cancer Biology Professor and Vice Chair of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University School of Medicine. In 1992 Dr. Pendergast joined the Department of Pharmacology at Duke University where she has developed an active research program that has uncovered critical roles for Abl kinases and actin nucleation machines in the regulation of diverse cellular processes. Dr. Pendergast rose through the ranks to tenured Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology in 2004. Dr. Pendergast’s scientific contributions have been recognized with numerous awards including the First Whitehead Scholar Award (1992-1997), Scholar of the Leukemia Society of America (1994-1999), the Gertrude Elion Cancer Research Award (1996-1997), the Frank Rose Memorial Lecture Award from the British and Irish Associations for Cancer Research (1998), the Stohlman Scholar Award (1999), and the James B. Duke Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University (2007-2012).

To help Nevada merchants extend greetings to the families and students, the College sent “Welcome Cottey” signs to every business in town. Businesses that would like more “Welcome Cottey” signs should contact the Office of Marketing and Strategic Communication at 667-8181, ext. 2140.