127th Academic Year Kicks Off with Convocation Ceremony

Aug 26, 2019

By Tommy Riggs

FREDERICK, Maryland—Hood College marked the start of its 127th academic year with its annual Convocation ceremony Sunday evening in the Hodson Outdoor Theater on campus.

Bill Brown, vice president for enrollment management, welcomed new students to campus; Christian Hoch ’20, president of the Student Government Association delivered the welcome from the students; and Jennifer Ross, Ph.D., professor of art and archaeology gave the keynote address.

This year, Hood welcomed 440 new first-year and transfer students to its undergraduate population. These students come from 22 states, the District of Columbia, and eight countries. Ninety percent are receiving an achievement scholarship, and 74 students have been invited to join the prestigious Honors program. One hundred forty-one students (32 percent) are recruited student-athletes. There are 28 legacy students, whose parent, sibling or grandparent earned a Hood bachelor’s or master’s degree.

In the last year, Hood has partnered with several organizations to improve academics. Google will offer an Applied Computing Series of classes that teach the foundations of computer and data science through hands-on, project-based coursework, which provides course content and free access to Google’s platform. The Georgetown Hill Early School will operate the former Onica Prall Child Development Laboratory School, as the Georgetown Hill Lab School, to expand operations. As a new member of the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystems Unit, Hood faculty and students will have the opportunity to work on projects with federal members, such as the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Defense.

There are 184 new graduate students this year including 23 international students from six different countries.

In the Graduate School, the first cohort of the doctoral program defended their theses in the spring and summer. The master’s program in counseling has received accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). A partnership with the Army Continuing Education System (ACES) will provide graduate degree scholarships for active-duty military stationed at Fort Detrick.

The Graduate School has also launched Hood’s first-ever online programs in cybersecurity and information technology, which are now enrolling for the spring 2020 semester. Learn more and hood.edu/go-online.