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They’ve moved in to their residence halls, completed  Outreach Adventure and Adirondack Adventure pre-orientation and bid farewell to mom and dad.  Now Orientation for members of the Class of ’16 is in full swing, with advising meetings, discussions of this year’s common reading, and social activities filling their days.  Here’s a look at what Hamilton’s newest community members have been up to since they arrived.

Hamilton College will open its 201st year with the traditional Convocation ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 29, at 4:30 p.m., in Wellin Hall. Members of the administration will welcome students and new faculty, and academic achievement prizes will be awarded to students. This year’s Convocation will feature guest speaker John Chandler, Hamilton’s 15th president and president emeritus at Williams College. His talk is titled “Hamilton: Two Centuries and Counting.” The ceremony will be webcast live.

S0me 280 members of the Class of '16 arrived on the Hill on Aug. 17 to prepare for pre-orientation. Adirondack Adventure (AA) and Outreach Adventure (OA) give incoming students the chance to spend a week getting to know their new classmates in an informal setting, interacting on an equal basis and learning something new. The rest of the Class of '16 will arrive on Aug. 25 when new student orientation begins.

Adirondack Adventure (AA) and Outreach Adventure (OA),  Hamilton’s pre-orientation programs for new students, will welcome 283 members – representing 60 percent – of the Class of 2016 on Friday, Aug. 17. This year marks the largest AA/OA participation ever, with 240 first-year students going on AA trips plus 43 taking part in OA.

Progress continues on construction of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, with its dedication ceremony scheduled for Friday, Oct. 5, 5:30 p.m., during Fallcoming Weekend.

The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum, Hamilton’s biggest summer construction project, is in its final stages.  Steve Bellona, associate vice president for facilities & planning, reported that  final finish work on the interior is in progress.  Wood flooring in the main gallery is being installed and is expected to be complete at the end of this week.

At the end of their summer research, students from Hamilton, Colgate University. and Hobart and William Smith Colleges who did projects in organic chemistry gathered at Hamilton to present their results in a symposium on July 25. Each student spoke for 15 minutes and then responded to questions. A cookout at the Babbitt Pavilion followed.

Anne E. Lacsamana, associate professor of women’s studies and chair of the Women’s Studies Department, has authored a new book. Revolutionizing Feminism: The Philippine Women's Movement in the Age of Terror was published this month by Paradigm Publishers.

Ann Owen, the Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Economics, was interviewed for a Wall Street Journal MarketWatch article titled “One Fed tool that gives Wall Street heartburn.” The piece addressed a desire by some to reduce the interest rates paid to banks for reserves they leave at the Federal Reserve.

Take a group of Hamilton employees eager to volunteer in the community, put them in a warehouse full of unused books headed for the discard pile, and what has evolved is a Community Bookshelf service project that benefits many local organizations.