Lincoln University Opens Academic Year with Fall Convocation

Lincoln University of Missouri will observe the start of the 2024-25 academic year with its annual opening convocation on Thursday, Sept. 5. The event begins at 11 a.m. in Mitchell Auditorium on the LU campus.

Fall convocation is a formal ceremony that marks the beginning weeks of each academic year at Lincoln. It serves as a pivotal gathering to set the tone for the year ahead. The convocation includes greetings from the President, the Board of Curators, and student leadership. The program also introduces new students to the time-honored traditions of the reciting of the University Oath and the singing of the alma mater.

Radio broadcaster Darren Smith will deliver the keynote address. Smith, a Kansas City native, is a 2000 graduate of Lincoln who served as freshman class president and spent two years as student representative on the LU Board of Curators. As an alumnus, Smith has worked as a photojournalist for the University and assisted the athletic department in broadcasting its football and basketball games while also performing with the marching band. Now sports director at Fox Sports Radio in Kansas City, Smith covers the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, Sporting Kansas City, and the University of Kansas football and basketball teams. The Kansas Association of Broadcasters recognized his show, "The Ship with Darren Smith," as Program of the Year in 2020 for an episode focusing on the death of George Floyd.

Classes at Lincoln began Aug. 19. Fall semester runs until Dec. 12.

The convocation is open to students, faculty, staff and guests. Mitchell Auditorium is located in Richardson Fine Arts Center, 710 E. Dunklin St. in Jefferson City. The convocation will also be livestreamed.