The end of one academic year finds members of the Ohio University community looking ahead to the next and to welcoming the newest members of the Bobcat family to their new home away from home.

As the Office for Undergraduate Orientation Programs prepares for OHIO’s annual Bobcat Student Orientation (BSO), scheduled for June 4-30 on the Athens Campus, the University’s Welcome Week Committee is moving full steam ahead with “Ready. Set. OHIO!”  

A new initiative encompassing the many stages of transitioning from an admitted student to officially becoming a Bobcat, “Ready. Set. OHIO!” is an expanded and three-phased approach to welcoming and preparing new students for their OHIO experience and life on the Athens Campus. The phases are:

• The “Ready” phase, which includes BSO, as well as the first-year roommate and room selection process
• The “Set” phase, which encompasses the myriad tasks that new Bobcats must complete before starting their academic journey at OHIO, many of which are outlined in the “Before You Arrive” section of the University’s Arrival Guide
• The “OHIO” phase, which consists of the newly expanded Bobcat Welcome Week that kicks off the first day of fall move-in on Thursday, Aug. 23, and runs through OHIO’s first home football game on Saturday, Sept. 1

“We have a dedicated group of faculty and staff from throughout the Athens Campus who have been developing our ‘Ready. Set. OHIO!’ initiative and accompanying Bobcat Welcome Week,” said Judy Piercy, interim assistant dean of students and co-chair of the Welcome Week committee. “We hope to engage the entire Ohio University community, as well as our Athens neighbors, in welcoming our new students and celebrating this significant milestone in their lives – all while acclimating them to our community and fostering a sense of belonging, connectedness and engagement early in their academic journey.”

With the “Ready” phase in motion, the Welcome Week Committee is launching a new Bobcat Welcome Week website. The site is still under development, but will include:

• A link to OHIO’s Arrival Guide, designed to answer some of the most commonly asked questions Bobcats and their loved ones have as they navigate their transition to Ohio University and Athens
• A link to the Fall Move-In Schedule, which this year is being conducted by residence hall floors rather than by a student’s last name like previous years and by teams of students, operating under a new name – the Bobcat Move-In Crew
• A link to the Bobcat Welcome Week schedule of activities, with a key that will denote mandatory events for first-year students
• Links to helpful resources for new students, faculty and staff, including campus and parking maps
• Links to helpful resources for current OHIO faculty and staff, including a library of University Communications and Marketing-designed “Ready. Set. OHIO!” graphics that can be used when promoting programs and events for OHIO’s new students via banners, posters, fliers and on digital displays throughout the Athens Campus

“In developing the Welcome Week website, we aimed to create a one-stop shop for all things related to the start of fall semester,” said Cimmeron O’Connor, director of Undergraduate Orientation Programs and co-chair of the Welcome Week Committee, who credited staff at University College and the Office of Information Technology with designing the site. “Whether you are a current member of the OHIO community, one of our new arrivals or someone supporting our new arrivals, we want you to be involved in the special moments and events that kick off our academic year and have all the resources you need to do just that.”