F&M Stories

Members of the Class of 2027 gather at their F&M Convocation ceremony. (Photo by Deb Grove)

Professor of Spanish & Linguistics Kim Armstrong leads the procession into Convocation. (Photo by Deb Grove)

Brian Norcross directs musicians at the Class of 2027 Convocation ceremony. Norcross is senior director of instrumental music & conducting studies and senior teaching professor of music. (Photo by Deb Grove)

F&M senior Muna Sultana, president of Diplomatic Congress and the student body. (Photo by Deb Grove)

F&M President Barbara Altmann addresses the Class of 2027. (Photo by Deb Grove)

Members of the Class of 2027 gather at their F&M Convocation ceremony. (Photo by Deb Grove)

Members of the Class of 2027 gather at their F&M Convocation ceremony. (Photo by Deb Grove)

Students and families share hugs and tears at the Class of 2027 Convocation ceremony. (Photo by Deb Grove)

Students and families share hugs and tears at the Class of 2027 Convocation ceremony. (Photo by Deb Grove)

Students and families gather at the Class of 2027 Convocation ceremony. (Photo by Deb Grove)

Students and families gather at the Class of 2027 Convocation ceremony. (Photo by Deb Grove)

International students from the Class of 2027 gather at their F&M Convocation ceremony. (Photo by Deb Grove)

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Members of the Franklin & Marshall College Class of 2027 took the first steps of their F&M journey at Convocation Aug. 25.

The time-honored event signifies the start of the College’s academic year. 

Faculty and professional staff joined students’ families outside the Alumni Sports & Fitness Center to applaud the 560 first-year and 12 transfer students proceeding toward the ceremony. The incoming class is the largest in several years at the College.

F&M President Barbara Altmann’s address to students cited inspiration from an unexpected source: Barbie, her childhood nickname.  

Altmann likened her academic path to the recent blockbuster’s protagonist, Barbie, a doll who discovers meaning in the real world.  

“It took trial and error to find my intellectual passion, and then to have the courage to follow it into the world of 600-year-old books, dusty archives, graduate school, teaching, and now, the presidency of this very fine and powerful school,” Altmann said. 

Senior Muna Sultana, president of Diplomatic Congress and the student body, shared a similar sentiment. 

“College is about learning your place in this world,” Sultana said.  

“Take a moment to look across the room… This will be your home for the next four years, and the peers you’re sitting with today will be your family for a lifetime,” she said.

Watch the recorded ceremony.

Class of 2027 at a Glance:

• 560 enrolled

• 32% admit rate

• 30 states represented

• 27 countries of citizenship

• 14% international

• 13% first-generation college students

• 12% PELL grant eligible