Dear Sewanee Family,

You’ve made it through the hard part—navigating back-to-school to-do lists and exchanging goodbyes with your Sewanee student. Now the fun can begin! As returning parents and families know, the Domain is full of well-loved landmarks and hidden gems waiting to be explored and enjoyed by everyone in our University community. We hope to see you on campus often in the months ahead.

In fact, you may have already marked your calendar for Family Weekend 2026, coming up Oct. 2–4. Registration is now open, and you’ll find more information below. If you’re looking for accommodations, wheretostay.sewanee.edu is a great resource. Just a reminder: When using any University site, do not provide payment-card information, bank account details, passwords, verification codes, or other information by email or text. When in doubt, don’t hesitate to contact me at sewaneeparents@sewanee.edu.

Fall break is also on the horizon—it’s scheduled for Oct. 22–25. If your student is looking for transportation options between the Mountain and Nashville International Airport, they may want to book a spot on the Groome Shuttle. This shuttle goes between the Smoke House Lodge parking lot in Monteagle and the Departures section of the Nashville Airport’s terminal, stopping in Manchester along the way. Your student can also take the shuttle back to Monteagle. Pickup is at the airport’s Ground Transportation Center. 

What about travel between campus and the Smoke House Lodge? The Dean of Students Office will soon be sending students a form to request a ride. Tell your student to keep an eye on their email!

We want you to feel fully in tune with Sewanee even when you’re miles away. If you missed the Honor Code signing on Aug. 25 (or just want to rewatch it), you can find a video recording here. Also, Greek Life hosted a parent information session on Aug. 27, with lots of helpful tips and details about supporting your student’s fraternity or sorority experience. If you have questions about that presentation, you can email the Greek Life team here.

If your student is interested in Greek Life, you might remind them that registration for upper-class fraternity and sorority recruitment is now open. It closes on Thursday, Sept. 10, at 11:59 p.m., and late registrations will not be accepted. Another deadline to keep in mind: Today (Sept. 1) is the final day your student may add a course without faculty consent. The last day they may add a course with faculty consent is Tuesday, Sept. 8. If they have questions, they can contact the registrar's office here.

Again, I encourage you to bookmark parents.sewanee.edu, which is full of family resources. If you’re on social media, you may also want to follow Sewanee Alumni & Parents on Facebook and @sewanee_alumni_parents on Instagram. 

I’m so glad to be connected. It’s going to be a wonderful year!

Bess Turner, P’25, P’28, P’30
Director of Family & Donor Engagement

A new academic year brings the opportunity to reflect on Sewanee’s core values. Recently, Vice-Chancellor Pearigen and Dean of Students Nicky Campbell shared this message with our students, as well as with parents of freshmen. It includes links to campus resources that support healthy relationships and thoughtful decision-making. 

Earlier this summer, University Health Services put together a list of conversation starters to guide family discussions about a range of meaningful topics. Though the list is directed to parents of freshmen, it’s worth bookmarking at any stage of your student’s Sewanee journey.

There are at least a million reasons to visit Sewanee, and Family Weekend is one of the best times to experience our campus. If you haven’t yet registered for this year’s gathering, put a red circle around Oct. 2–4, and please plan to join us!

You’ll find the registration form and more details here. If you’re taking part in Tailgate 2026 on Saturday, Oct. 3, you will reserve a tailgate spot as part of the registration process.

Your $100 registration fee covers attendance for up to six guests and helps make possible all of our amazing Family Weekend traditions, including Friday's all-campus supper on the Quad, shuttle service, and campus tours and events. 

There are many parts of Family Weekend you won't want to miss, including Vice-Chancellor Pearigen's welcome address at All Saints' Chapel on Oct. 2 at 5 p.m. As part of his remarks, he'll recognize newly inducted members of the Order of the Gown. Following this ceremony, we'll have our all-campus meal on the Quad, which is a great opportunity to meet faculty, staff, and other Sewanee families.

View the full Family Weekend 2026 schedule here.

Gowning is a beloved Sewanee tradition that always evokes the beauty and uniqueness of our community. We’re excited for the upcoming ceremony, which will take place as part of Advent Semester Convocation at All Saints’ Chapel on Friday, Sept. 18, at 4:30 p.m. 

Seating in the chapel will be limited to faculty, students being inducted, and those who are gowning them. All other guests are invited to watch a livestream at Guerry Auditorium or on their own devices.

We realize Advent Semester Convocation falls close to Family Weekend! If you can visit Sewanee for only one of these special occasions, we suggest joining Family Weekend, as it will include an opportunity to celebrate newly gowned students.

You’ll find many more details about gowning on our Gowning 101 website. When the big day arrives, you’ll find our Convocation livestream here.

Our Residential Life team enjoyed every part of the August move-in experience, and we hope your student did too!

We understand that sometimes rooming adjustments are needed. Residential Life will begin the room change request process in September.

Students who would like to request a room change or a different roommate will need to complete the room change request form and follow the instructions provided by our team.

Details about the room change process will be sent directly to students’ email accounts, most likely on Friday, Sept. 4.

University Health Services is dedicated to supporting students’ holistic well-being. You can meet our team here, and find a list of additional local healthcare providers here.

Your student can make an appointment anytime during our business hours—Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Appointments may be scheduled using our patient portal, by calling 931.598.1270, or by stopping by in person. After business hours, we encourage students to contact Highpoint Health - Sewanee, Complete Express Care, or FastPace.

Anytime your student feels under the weather, they can fill out a sick meal request form to arrange for a takeout box from McClurg. We’re sending good wishes for a healthy semester!

The Office of Civic Engagement (OCE) has so many ways for your student to connect on campus and in the broader community. Check out a sample of these opportunities below, and encourage your student to reach out to us at ce@sewanee.edu.

Outreach Trips
Encourage your student to apply for one of our eight outreach trips over fall, winter, and spring break. Outreach trips are incredible ways to meet new people, travel to new places, and make a difference!

It’s Time to Vote!
Remind your student to check their voter registration, make a plan to vote in their home state or while abroad, and leave time to vote early over fall break or request absentee ballots. (The OCE can help with stamps and envelopes to return ballots!) If your student is a Tennessee resident, know that they must appear in person to vote in their first election after they register by mail or online.  

Family Weekend OCE Meet & Greet
Join us on Friday, Oct. 2, from 3–4 p.m. at the OCE to meet with our staff and hear how students are engaging with communities in and outside of Sewanee.

As the academic year begins, Career Readiness is looking back on an amazing summer. During the break, Sewanee students interned and conducted research in 22 states and 15 countries.

Thanks to generous donors, Sewanee provided $620,000 in stipends to support students' work in unpaid and underpaid internships.

Check here to see where Sewanee students were this summer and read more about internships and fellowships. 

We welcome your internship and job opportunities to share with Sewanee students. You can provide an opportunity here or by reaching out to hireatiger@sewanee.edu. 

Please encourage your student to visit our office in Carnegie to begin their planning for summer 2027, and follow us on Instagram to see our upcoming events.

The Office of Global Citizenship will host our Fall Study Away Fair this Thursday, Sept. 3, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the McClurg Patio. We hope to have a great turnout!

Both you and your student are invited to join Study Away Q&A for Families, a Zoom session we’re holding tomorrow, Sept. 2., at 6:30 p.m. CDT. You can join us by clicking here. If you have general questions about study away, please don’t hesitate to email us at global@sewanee.edu

Sept. 11 — Fridays at McGriff Happy Hour
Sept. 25 — Fridays at McGriff Happy Hour
Sept. 21–26 — Fall Greek recruitment
Sept. 26 — Bid Distribution / Shake Day for upper-class recruitment
Sept. 18 — Advent Semester Convocation & Gowning
Oct. 2–4 — Family Weekend 2026
Oct. 22–25 — Fall Break
Throughout the Advent Semester — Sewanee Athletics fall season
Throughout the Advent Semester — Campus organization meetings & activities

Find other key dates here, and view the academic calendar here.