They are environmental advocates, mentors, crocheters, budding entrepreneurs, artists, and nationally-ranked Irish dancers. Some have designed video games or raised money for Alzheimer's research; others have competed in rodeos, studied the nesting habits of owls, or played in rock bands.
All are members of a class of more than 900 new students who joined the Willamette University community as the academic year kicked off with celebration and community.
During orientation events at each of Willamette’s five colleges, students met new friends and professors, moved into residence halls or apartments, attended pre-orientation activities, and started the next chapter of their academic, artistic, and professional lives.
At PNCA, new students were welcomed to the vibrant living community of Portland's ArtHouse. Then, they engaged in community-building activities, shared meals together, and attended sessions practicing mindful and productive communication across differences. There was also time for fun at an ice cream social and farewell dinner with friends and family.
“This is your test kitchen”
At the annual Opening Convocation ceremony on the Salem campus, new undergraduate students and their families were welcomed to the Willamette community.
“Our goal is to prepare engaged leaders and shapers of society,” Willamette University President Steve Thorsett told the gathering of new students. “We will be attentive to helping you cultivate your sense of civic connection and duty, your love of humanity, and your commitment to building a more just and generous world.”
Convocation speaker Dani Cone BA’98, a Seattle coffee and grocery entrepreneur, spoke passionately about finding her place at Willamette. The freedom to explore and the community she found on campus put her on a path that would lead to founding three coffee shops, a pie company, and three neighborhood markets.
“I didn’t really realize at the time that the motto — Not unto ourselves alone are we born — would become a part of everything that I do,” Cone said. “It felt like those words were kind of a big, far-off ideal. But really they weren’t: I just hadn’t yet connected the dots between those words and making coffee and that feeling I found here of community.”
Cone also challenged the new Willamette students to find their own path.
“You make a difference — it’s your choice how,” Cone said. “This is your test kitchen.”
a quick snapshot of Willamette’s incoming students
Willamette University welcomed over 900 students to its Salem and Portland campuses. Here are some highlights about the incoming students at Willamette:
Undergraduate Students (Willamette College & PNCA combined)
- 529 new undergraduate students
- 91 transfer students
- Top major interest: Business, Psychology (Willamette College); Illustration, Animation (PNCA)
Willamette College
- 39% students of color
- Average weighted GPA: 3.8
- 26% first generation students
College of Law
- Total students: 121 plus 1 MLS and 1 LLM students
- Schools represented: 63
- Percentage of Oregon residents: 33%
- Students of color: 34%
Atkinson Graduate School of Management
Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies at PNCA
- 33 new graduate students (summer and fall 2024 combined)
School of Computing and Information Sciences
- 36 Masters of Data Science students
- 12 Masters of Computer Science students
Overall
- 5 countries represented
- 34 states represented
Note: numbers reflect new population at first day of classes.
