Matriculation Ceremony. At the end of their first day on campus, first-year students gather for the Matriculation Ceremony to mark their official welcome to the Bucknell community. During the ceremony, they receive a pin to commemorate the event and to recognize their fundamental responsibility of being a contributing member of the community. Following the ceremony in Rooke Chapel, the students process along a pathway of luminarias and through the Christy Mathewson Memorial Gateway to symbolize their entrance into the Bucknell community. The gateway procession is repeated during commencement.

Convocation and Candlelighting Ceremony. The night before classes start, the campus community gathers in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts to mark the beginning of the academic year. The evening provides a context for the intellectual challenges that students will face over the course of the year. Following convocation, first-year students and faculty parade to the Malesardi Quad where the students stand side-by-side along the quad’s outer edges. The president lights a candle – representing the “Light of Knowledge” – and spreads that light to all the students, forming a circle of light. The candle-lighting ceremony comes to a close with faculty, staff, and students joining together to sing the alma mater, Dear Bucknell. The ceremony is repeated the night before commencement.

Other Annual Events. Read More.

• Color: Blue and Orange
• Mascot: Bucky the Bison
• Admit Rate: 33.0% (Class of 2022). Read more