About 720 new freshmen and transfer students joined the university family in September, participating in a week-long student orientation program before starting their fall classes.

The new class has between 15 and 20 more students than last year's incoming group, bringing total enrollment in the College of Arts and Sciences to about 2,200.

About 610 of the new students are freshmen, while the remaining 110 are transfer students.

This year, more than 100 entering students had an alumni family connection, such as a parent or sibling that has attended the university. Such "legacy" students were invited to a special luncheon in the alumni house during the first full day of orientation activities.

The university has had to adjust to its recent growth, obtaining additional off-campus housing for upper classmen. Three additional first-year seminars also were added to this year's schedule, bringing the total number of seminars to 38.

With the expansion of the student body comes expansion of the faculty, adding depth and breadth to academic offerings. Arriving this year, for example, are the first professors of film and classics.

Admissions officials were pleased with the academic quality of this year's class, which posted an unofficial average grade-point-average of 3.53.

The School of Business enrollment for this year is expected to be about 1,623, while the School of Education will enroll about 415 new students, bringing the university's total enrollment to 4,200.

Wednesday, September 18 was a day of gathering for artists and art-lovers alike. An opening reception both dished out refreshments and served up refreshing takes on faculty art pieces.

Titled "Perceptions," the exhibit not only allowed faculty to establish credibility with their students, but also gave them an opportunity to partake in social interaction often missing from the studio setting.

"So much of an artist's life is a solitary pursuit, and then to enter an arena such as a gallery. To see what others are doing. The shock of entering a social atmosphere," said artist John Brownfield.

The social atmosphere indeed had its affects on the artists, particularly sculptist Valerie Gilman, who adamantly expressed her feelings about her piece, "Abigale, Gertrude, Harriet and Esther."

"The girls? They've got attitude," Gilman said, referring to her grouping of four female figures, all with grossly exaggerated physiques and expressions all their own.

In addition to Gilman's whimsical sculpture, a diverse selection of art abounded, including everything from the medieval panel art of John Brownfield to the minimalist oil paintings of Joan English to the organic ceramic pottery of Andy Clift.

Also present were the collage pieces of Penny McElroy, who uses an illustration technique to marry image and text, and Joseph Biel, who utilizes graphic design to create his surreal, one-of-a-kind book art. More thought-provoking pieces included the art of Beth Thielden who expresses the fears of those with Alzheimer's in "Where is Out?"