Photos and video: A lively beginning to the academic year

During a week of welcome events, Brown’s campus buzzed with the unmistakable spirit of new beginnings as the Fall 2024 semester kicked off.

Students marching — Brown welcomed more than 3,200 new undergraduate, graduate and medical students during New Student Orientation, marking the start of the Fall 2024 semester and the arrival of The Class of 2028 to the Brown community.

Student moving in — College Hill came alive on Aug. 28. as first-year students moved into residence halls across campus.

Student carrying cloth bin — College Hill came alive on Aug. 28. as first-year students moved into residence halls across campus.

Students watching a performance and recording — An official Class of 2028 welcome event at Olney-Margolies Athletic Center featured performances from student groups like OJA! and the Chattertocks, as well as speakers like Loc Truong, Brown’s associate vice president of campus life for inclusive community and belonging.

Students meeting on the Green — Another of New Student Orientation's first events featured Bruno Leaders meeting with groups of first-year undergraduates to talk about life on campus.

STudents at resource fair — Informative, fun and social — at the Campus Resource Fair on the College Green, first-year students learned about student centers, academic departments, offices and other resources at Brown that exist to support them.

Students at a fair — Volunteers fanned out across campus for Green Move-in, a program designed to help educate new students to be environmental stewards of campus. Led by the Office of Sustainability and Resiliency, volunteers distributed water bottles, went over composting and distributed energy-saving power strips (pictured).

Family saying goodbye — Campus saw its fair share of bittersweet goodbyes over the weekend as families departed with hugs and best wishes.

Students dancing — Students showed off their moves during a bit of nighttime revelry at the 2024 Orientation Dance.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The rituals of arrival are familiar, yet the excitement is always fresh.

Marking the start of the Fall 2024 semester, the Brown University campus buzzed with the unmistakable spirit of new beginnings as Brown welcomed more than 3,200 new undergraduate, graduate and medical students. From pre-orientation programs through New Student Orientation, festivities for incoming students featured a lineup of festive and informative events designed to welcome new Brunonians and immerse them in the unique culture of Brown.

Orientation activities all led to Opening Convocation on Tuesday, Sept. 3., where President Christina H. Paxson welcomed students with opening remarks and Dr. Ashish K. Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, gave the ceremony’s keynote address, urging students to work across differences to advance the health and well-being of humankind.

Above and below are scenes from the happenings taken by Communications Photographer Nick Dentamaro.