Successful Sunday Admissions Event
February 19, 2026
Successful Sunday Admissions EventOn Sunday, February 15, Xavier held its first spring 2026 Admissions event. Events were planned throughout the day for our admitted undergraduates and their families (largely between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.). The colleges met with them from 1-2 p.m., using the entire first floor of Alter Hall. For this event, CAS continued its successful partnership with the College of Professional Sciences. We have found this to be extremely effective, helping new students navigate areas of interest that reach beyond simple college divisions (which often have little meaning to them).
The event proved overwhelmingly successful. An incredibly large percentage of those who signed up attended (80%?), and the building was bustling for the entire hour—met by greeters on one end of Alter and light refreshments on the other. Our college hour allowed CAS to make a case for all the exciting learning opportunities available to students in the next four years, and our input seems to have encouraged many students (we’re told) to move past the “accepted” stage into the “deposited and ready to arrive in fall 2026” stage.
I was particularly struck by the enthusiasm of students and their families. At the end of the event, one father thanked me explicitly: “this was exactly the kind of event we were hoping for. I assumed we would be shuffled into a large lecture hall and talked at, but we got to meet faculty, meet students, and see everyone’s excitement. Good job.”
Although I didn’t witness other corners of campus on Sunday, Interim Nursing Dean Laura Dezurec noted that her college “had an EXCELLENT event and a wonderful turnout.” Biology Chair Jen Robbins felt “this was the best event we’ve ever done,” and WCB Dean Marco Pagani “counted 85+ people in our atrium” and was pleased that all their guests “were quite engaged and they all had very good questions for our faculty.”
Well done, colleagues! We will hold two additional spring events on Saturday, March 21, and Sunday April 12.
Stephen Yandell
Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor, Department of English