University to Celebrate Foundation Day Sept. 21 and Founders’ Day Oct. 12
Thursday, September 13, 2018
The University of the South will revive an old tradition and celebrate Foundation Day this month to observe the 150th anniversary of the matriculation of its first nine students, which occurred on Sept. 18, 1868. The celebration will coincide with Family Weekend and will include both a Convocation on Friday, Sept. 21, and the dedication of an EQB monument.
During the Foundation Day Convocation, Vice-Chancellor John McCardell will give remarks observing the significant occasion, and students will be inducted into the Order of the Gown. Only students receiving (or giving) gowns and families of new OG members will have tickets for admission to the Chapel. All others are invited to watch this special Convocation in Guerry Auditorium.
The more familiar Founders’ Day celebration next month will include a Convocation at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12. Ning Tang, C’98, will give the Founders’ Day address. Tang is the founder and CEO of CreditEase, a global financial technology leader specializing in inclusive finance and wealth management.
In conjunction with Founders’ Day, Christy Coleman and Waite Rawls from the American Civil War Museum (Richmond, Va.) will offer a public conversation at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 11, in Guerry Auditorium. The American Civil War Museum is the nation’s first museum to explore the story of the Civil War from three perspectives—Union, Confederate, and African American. Coleman and Waite will have a conversation about understanding the Civil War from these multiple perspectives.
More information about Founders’ Day honorary degree recipients will be available as the date draws closer.