The faculty and staff of Denison University will install its newest students, some 650 members of the Class of 2013, at a traditional induction ceremony planned for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 27, on the Reese~Shackelford Common. President Dale T. Knobel will officiate at the ceremonies, which cap the first day of August Orientation.

The first-year students will arrive on campus with their families beginning at 8:30 a.m. to settle into their new living quarters, register autos, sign-up for telephone service and accomplish various other tasks. The Denison University football team, which has been practicing on campus for nearly two weeks, will be on hand to help new students move into their rooms.

The induction ceremony includes the ringing of the historic college bell, a Denison tradition that was revived by President Knobel, and faculty members will wear their full academic regalia. After the new students process onto the Common, flanked by the faculty, they will hear the debut of the orchestral fanfare written especially for them by a member of the music faculty. Both the fanfare and the college bell will be heard again at their Commencement in four years. The induction program includes the presentation of the Class of 2013 banner; welcoming remarks by representatives of the student body, the faculty, the Board of Trustees and the Society of the Alumni; and a charge to the class by President Knobel.

A number of special orientation programs (those designed for international students and students of color, and others focusing on community service, outdoor experience and urban culture) have taken place in the weeks preceding the start of August Orientation. These pre-orientation programs are designed to develop skills critical to success in college and facilitate a smooth transition from high school to college life. They have taken place both on and off campus.

This year’s campus-wide theme, which is addressed with interdisciplinary study during the year, is “consumption.” Frances Moore Lappé, noted social change activist and author of “Diet for a Small Planet,” will lead off the year-long series of lectures and special events with the opening all-college convocation at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10, in Swasey Chapel.

Student members of various athletic teams (football, volleyball, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s cross country) arrived over the past weeks for the fall season preparations along with various other campus and residential life student staff members. The other returning Denison University students will arrive over the weekend and classes begin on Monday, Aug. 31.

Members of the Denison Class of 2013 hail from 40 states and 21 foreign countries.

More than half graduated in the top 10 percent of their secondary school class, and the class has an average SAT score of approximately 1300, an ACT of average of 28, and a high school grade-point average of 3.7. Additionally, nearly five percent of the class members are National Merit Scholar Finalists. Multicultural students comprise nearly 25 percent, making the class of 2013 the most diverse entering class in Denison history.

The class also includes 38 class presidents, 18 school newspaper editors, more than 400 participants in the fine and performing arts, and 440 who have held full- or part-time jobs throughout the school year. The vast majority were leaders in community service, and 129 were involved in student government. More than half the members of the incoming class were involved in varsity athletics at their secondary schools. Among those athletes, 148 led their peers as team captains, and 68 earned All-State recognition.