Adrian College welcomes second-largest class in 162-year history
Posted Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Author: Mickey Alvarado
Adrian College officially welcomed its second-largest freshman class in its 162-year history with 660 students addressed in a matriculation ceremony at Docking Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 15.
In 2018, Adrian College had its largest-ever enrollment with 702 new students and in 2012, there were 655 incoming freshmen.
This year, Adrian College’s overall enrollment is approximately 1,900 students going into the 2021-2022 academic school year. Adrian College has had an incoming class of more than 500 freshmen each year for the past 13 years.
Frank Hribar, Adrian College Vice President of Enrollment and Student Affairs, attributes Adrian College’s success to a wide variety of opportunities available on campus.
“Such a large incoming class is certainly a byproduct of the innovative culture on our campus,” Hribar said. “The addition of e-sports, the men’s and women’s ruby programs, along with the addition of several new academic majors and minors, played a significant role in the growth of this year’s class. I am very proud of how this campus continues to develop and transform in such creative ways.”
The matriculation ceremony officially marks the entrance of the class of 2025 into Adrian College. This year’s class includes students from 33 states, including Washington D.C.; Hawaii and Alaska. There are also 41 international students representing nine different countries: Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Fiji, Germany, Japan, Latvia and Slovakia.
Three sets of twins will be joining the incoming class, as well as Anthony Writer, the Detroit Lions fan of the year who announced the Lions selection in the NFL draft.
Another member of the Class of 2025 is Luc Marleau, an advocate for mental health with his own clothing line “Keep on Fighting,” which helps fund mental health organizations.
“We are very, very glad you are here students, and we look forward to getting to know you better and better over the next four years,” Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking said in the matriculation ceremony. “You stand today, students, on the threshold of one of the most magical times in your life.”
Docking congratulated the parents and said they should be very proud of raising the type of child “who can be admitted into this type of institution with values that embrace education and a life of meaning, purpose and consequence.”
“Parents, recognizing that you have been there to support your son or daughter until this momentous day, we want to recognize you in two small ways,” Docking said. “Every parent should have received a coin inscribed with the words, ‘The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.’ For roughly 18 years, parents, you have given them roots, but today you give them wings, and we celebrate with you.”
The second way the college celebrates with the parents is through pen and paper, Docking said. He asked the parents to write on a piece of paper what they want most for their child over the next four years. The parents were to place the paper in an envelope and leave it with the college to save, and it will be opened four years from now on their child’s commencement day.
During Welcome Week (Aug. 15-22), students check in and meet faculty advisors and student leaders. All of the freshmen will receive a thought provoking introduction into the liberal arts. Along with things such as mandatory placement testing, a course scheduling session and various advising sessions on everything from financial aid to time management, the new students will participate in events such as a Community Plunge, where they volunteer at a variety of service locations in Adrian. At the end of the week, the large freshmen class will have a group photo taken to commemorate their new beginning at Adrian College before closing out the week with a trip to Cedar Point.
Adrian College strongly recommended students be vaccinated upon their return. However, they were not required to do so.
“We urged our students to get vaccinated, and even have two days set aside for them to get vaccinated on campus, if they want to,” Hribar said. “They had a couple of COVID-19 screening options so we could have another safe return to the classrooms.”
Before starting the fall semester, Adrian College’s students had to submit documentation of: a record of COVID-19 vaccination, a negative molecular COVID-19 test, or documentation of a COVID-19 infection within the past 90 days.
For students choosing to be tested for COVID-19 to return to campus, there were two testing methods that were accepted to accommodate travel or longer wait times for results: a molecular PCR test taken within five days of arrival to campus or a rapid antigen or rapid PCR test if tested within two days of arrival to campus. Appropriate clinic-based or physician documentation had to accompany the results or they were accepted.
Students uploaded the results to their Magnus health portal as soon as they are received to allow Adrian College’s Student Health Services time to review the documentation.
For more information about Adrian College, visit www.adrian.edu/.
