New first-year students are invited to a StartStrong session during the summer. At those sessions, students meet with faculty and student advisors, discuss courses for their first semester, begin work with StrongPoints®, and begin their transition into college life and collegiate expectations.
An in-depth and diverse program of orientation for all new undergraduate students takes place before classes start in August, and an abbreviated program is held for students entering in January. Included in the August orientation program are discussions on various phases of college life, changes in registration, the Honor Code Ceremony, tours of the library, and social events. Through these and other activities, the orientation program provides opportunities for students to meet classmates, faculty advisors, student leaders, and college programs staff. There are also opportunities to identify college officials and their roles and to learn about student services and resources.
Orientation sessions continue in small groups throughout the new student’s adjustment to college and the community.
Cultural and Social Activities
Believing the cultural and social life of the campus to be crucial to the total development of the student, Meredith incorporates a variety of events into the college calendar. The Convocation Committee, the major events committee, the Wallace Lecture Committee, and other sponsoring organizations bring outstanding artists, lecturers, and performers to Meredith to enhance the College’s academic program.
Among the many such personalities Meredith students have heard in recent years are the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; Alexa Von Tobel, author of Financially Fearless; Randi Zuckerberg, social media entrepreneur; the late Dr. Alex Haley, author of Roots; the Hon. Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States and Nobel laureate; Dr. Jane Goodall, writer and world authority on primate behavior; Sandra Day O'Connor, first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; the late syndicated columnist Erma Bombeck; the late Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder (D-Colorado); the late playwright Wendy Wasserstein; documentarian Rory Kennedy; Nicholas de Torrenté, executive director of Doctors Without Borders; specialist in sustainable design William McDonough; journalists Judy Woodruff, Bob Edwards, Ellen Goodman, and Nicholas Kristof; historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Michael Beschloss; founder of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Ambassador Nancy Goodman Brinker; Tony Award winners Beth Leavel and Twyla Tharp; and Nobel laureates Seamus Heaney, Shirin Ebadi, Elie Wiesel, Wangari Maathai and Jody Williams.
Touring drama, music, and dance companies such as The Academy Theatre, The National Opera Company, and the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange also have delighted Meredith audiences with their presentations. In addition to Meredith’s programs, a number of cultural societies in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill bring talent to the area. Also, Meredith has a strong focus on dance instruction and performance, with performances by nationally recognized dance artists and other Meredith student, faculty and guest performances.
Meredith students also perform in the Raleigh area and on tours. The Meredith Chorus, Meredith Chorale, Encore!, and Meredith Sinfonietta appear in concert regularly throughout the college year, and winners of the Meredith Concerto Competition appear with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra. Meredith performance groups offer students with interests in music, drama, and dance opportunities to acquire practical experience both in production and on stage.
The art exhibition program brings a dozen or more visual artists to the campus each year. Their work can be viewed in the Frankie G. Weems Art Gallery in the Gaddy-Hamrick Art Center, in the Rotunda Gallery of Johnson Hall, and in the first floor gallery of the Science and Math Building.
The Meredith Activities Board brings bands and other entertainers to the Meredith campus. A number of the College’s activities sponsored by student organizations help create Meredith traditions and other annual events. From the dignity of formal occasions such as the Honor Code Ceremony to the fun of STUNT, campus traditions help foster a spirit of community. Furthermore, Meredith’s proximity to other colleges in Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem offers availability to a host of cultural and social activities.
Student Honors
Honors are bestowed in various ways by Meredith in recognition of outstanding achievement. Kappa Nu Sigma, founded at Meredith in 1923, has as its aim the promotion of scholarship at Meredith by recognizing academic excellence. Admitted on the basis of scholastic standing, students may become associate members during their junior year and full members their senior year. Silver Shield, organized in 1935, is an honorary leadership society. Members are selected from the junior and senior classes on the criteria of constructive leadership, service to the College, and academic achievement. Outstanding freshmen are eligible for induction into Alpha Lambda Delta, freshman honor society. The Dean’s List, the Honors Program, and a degree with distinction also recognize academic achievement.
A degree of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Social Work, or Bachelor of Music with Distinction is conferred upon a student under the conditions described in the Academic Recognition and Graduation section.
Honorary societies affiliated with national or international professional societies that offer membership to outstanding students in specialized areas include Alpha Kappa Delta for sociology, Beta Beta Beta for biology, Kappa Omicron Nu for human environmental sciences, Kappa Pi for art, Phi Alpha Theta for history, Pi Delta Phi for French, Pi Kappa Lambda for music, Psi Chi for psychology, Sigma Delta Pi for Spanish, and Sigma Tau Delta for English. Students who have achieved academic excellence are recognized for academic achievement and other accomplishments by various departments and clubs, and student leaders who have excelled are recognized in an awards program in the spring.