Ringing in a New Semester on Hawk Hill

After a successful on-ground campus experience last academic year despite the pandemic, Saint Joseph’s is ready to welcome thousands of students back for another year. Classes officially resume August 23, but activity is already picking up on Hawk Hill.

While many of the traditional events and familiar faces will be returning, read below to learn more about some of the highlights coming this fall semester: 

EVENTS

Welcome Week, the Activities Fair and the Senior BBQ will be returning again this year along with new events and activities for students to look forward to!

• Blacklight Dance Party and Karaoke | August 21
  Audience: Class of 2025
  The class of 2025 will enjoy a blacklight dance party and karaoke outdoors on the Maguire-Wolfington Welcome Center Lawn.
   
• Welcome to SJU | August 22
  Audience: Class of 2025
  This event is intended for incoming freshmen and will be held at Hagan Arena where President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D., University Student Senate President Taylor Stokes, Associate Provost, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Nicole Stokes, Ph.D., Director of Public Safety Art Grover and other important members of the campus community will be there to greet them. The class photo will be taken that afternoon, followed by a welcome picnic!
   
• Welcome Week | August 23 - 29
  Audience: All Students
  Check out the Hawk Hill Productions website for a full list of Welcome Week activities, including a Casino night, baking demo, obstacle course and more!
   
• Activities Fair | August 26 
  Audience: All Students
  Learn about organizations across campus and find out how to get involved at the annual Activities Fair. This year, it will be held on Curran Lawn and Merrion Lawn and will be followed by a Food Truck Festival.
   
• Class of 2024 Phillies Game | August 28
  Audience: Class of 2024
  For those sophomores who didn’t get an on-campus welcome last year, student activities is hosting a special visit to Citizens Bank Park for the Class of 2024 to see the Phillies vs. Diamondbacks. Transportation will be provided as well as a food voucher. Details will soon be posted to the Student Life Instagram account, here.
   
• Class of 2022 BBQ | September 1 
  Audience: Class of 2022
  A time to reconnect with classmates and start off the senior year. Details will soon be posted to the Student Life Instagram account, here.
   
• Family Day on Hawk Hill | September 25
  Audience: All SJU Family Members
  A full day of programming will be returning for visiting families including a soccer game, Quizzo, tours at the Barnes Arboretum and Big Money Bingo in the evening! More information to come. 
  
   

NEW COURSES AND SEMINARS

A new semester means new courses. Here's a sample of what students can expect this fall:

• Race and Sports in America (HIS 150)
  This course uses the sporting arena as a site for important discussions of race, racism, nation and identity in American society. The course’s culminating research presentation will require students to follow a story on race in sports in America for an entire semester. 
   
• Serious Comedy and Social Justice (LEO 150) 
  Comedy has long been a vehicle by which performers and audiences can engage uncomfortable truths and issues of social injustice. In this course, students will explore important issues of social justice as presented in comedy across a variety of sources both contemporary and classic. 
   
• Life and Death (PHL 280)
  This course focuses heavily on the metaphysical, beginning with an examination of what it means to be alive. This leads directly to a consideration of human life, the life of a person and conceptions of the afterlife. 
   

NEW FACES 

A new semester wouldn’t be complete without some new faces to meet and greet on campus.

Liyuan Liu, Ph.D.

Job Title: Assistant Professor of Data Systems and Science

What are you most looking forward to on campus? 

I am most looking forward to meeting DSS students, especially for the machine learning in business applications students. My research interest is Machine Learning, and I am looking forward to involving students in my research in class and out of class.

I am also looking forward to meeting the DSS faculty in person, and joining the events on campus, such as industry panels and research seminars. And I hope I can work with students to establish the "Women in Data Science" organization at SJU.

Why did you choose to teach at Saint Joseph’s?

I like the curriculum. Machine learning in business applications is (to my knowledge) the first of its kind in undergraduate programs in the United States. I got my PhD in analytics and data science and I feel like my background fits the DSS department, especially for the machine learning major.

I also really like the faculty and students here. When I did my interview, I felt like the teachers were very professional and friendly. And I also gave a lecture to DSS students who came off as very active, self-disciplined, confident and responsible. So I believe I will have a lot of fun here.

I am very excited about joining SJU. I actually got nine tenure-track offers during my job search and I believe I made the best decision in choosing St. Joe's out of all nine offers.

Danielle Stuart '25

Major: Psychology
Hometown: Washington Township, New Jersey
Sports Team: Women's Soccer

What are you most excited about for this fall?
What I am looking forward to most on campus is being able to see and meet new people and to be able to explore everything that Saint Joseph’s has to offer!! 

Why did you choose Saint Joseph's University?
I chose St. Joe's because the minute I stepped on campus I knew that it was my home away from home. Everyone I talked to was so welcoming and I never felt more comfortable being at a place where everyone was always willing to be there for you no matter what a situation was.