Welcome to Missouri State University.

If you are new to campus, I look forward to connecting with you. Feel free to tweet at me (my Twitter handle is @clifsmart) or stop me on the sidewalk and introduce yourself.

I hope you were able to enjoy some of our Welcome Weekend activities as students moved into residence halls and began forming lifelong relationships with one another. We had an excellent New Student Convocation presentation on Sunday by our very own Paige Oxendine — assistant director at the efactory and former MSU student body president.

The next several weeks will provide many opportunities to be engaged on campus:

• We will dedicate Heitz House — the new residence hall at Holland and Madison — at 2 p.m. today.
• We will host a Multicultural Networking Reception at 6 p.m. tomorrow in the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center.
• Next Wednesday, Aug. 31, we will greet our new students with House Calls at 5:15 p.m. You may sign up online.
• We will dedicate the renovated Kampeter Health Sciences Hall at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 6.
• We will cheer on our Bears at the first home football game on Sept. 8. Tailgating in Bearfest Village will start around 5 p.m. The game is scheduled for kickoff at 7 p.m.

Other campus events can be found on the calendar of events.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!