Sewanee News

Through the U.S. Department of State's Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program, Sewanee students have pursued intensive language study around the world, developing language skills and cultural understanding that foster meaningful connections across borders and open doors to opportunities across the globe. CLS is also among the nation's most competitive language scholarships with an acceptance rate of roughly 7%. Sewanee has established an impressive record for the CLS, with at least ten scholarships awarded since 2019 for students learning Arabic, Chinese, Hindu, Korean, Russian, and Swahili.

The first time that Spandan Sigdel, C’29, left his home country of Nepal, it was to travel to Sewanee to start his first year of college. The second time he left his home country, there was also a Sewanee connection: He had secured an internship with organic rice distributor Jasberry in Bangkok, Thailand, an opportunity made possible in part thanks to the Sewanee Freeman Asia Fellowship, which provides selected students with up to $10,000 in funding for an internship experience in East or Southeast Asia.

The Campus Review magazine's October 2026 issue highlights the nation's elite green schools—colleges and universities that blend high-level academics with top-tier sustainability, renewable energy, and eco-conscious campus operations—and Sewanee made the cover! Read the feature story to learn more about how academic study, outdoor recreation, and nationally-recognized sustainable operations set Sewanee apart.

The University of the South is proud to announce that distinguished alumnus Dr. Joseph B. DeLozier III, C’77, has been inducted into the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association (TICUA) Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

DeLozier joins an esteemed group of 25 honorees recognized across Tennessee’s 34 private, nonprofit institutions for their extraordinary leadership and service.

For many college students, few sounds are as unwelcome during summer vacation as the clanging of a morning alarm cutting off any possibility of sleeping in. But Glory Dada, C’27, was positively energized by it: “For me it was a feeling of, ‘Yay! I get to go back to the lab!’” A neuroscience major and pre-health student from Ibadan, Nigeria, Dada spent her summer conducting research on the campus of Yale University as part of the Sewanee-at-Yale internship program.

At the start of a summer internship, many students expect a slower first few days as they learn the ropes of their new environment. For Ava Bowron, C’27, that was decidedly not the case. Barely 24 hours after arriving at her internship site, Bowron dove right into the work in a very literal sense: Her first task was to complete both open water and advanced diving certifications in order to qualify her for the rest of her summer responsibilities as a citizen scientist with the Coral Tribe in Koh Tao, Thailand.

The University of the South held its Advent Semester Convocation on Friday, Sept. 18, to induct new members into the Order of the Gown and share the winners of student awards and prizes. The ceremony featured a Convocation address from Dr. Renia Dotson, C’88, chair of the Board of Regents.

Established in 2025, the First Year Experience (FYE) program this year welcomed all 474 new first-year students to participate in its activities, marking the first time in decades that all members of Sewanee’s newest class would share a common entry experience. The program kicked off with exploration of the Domain and surrounding communities, a pre-semester immersion experience tied to an academic course, and an introduction to all things Sewanee.

The University's 2026 Advent Semester Convocation will take place at 4:30 p.m. CDT on Friday, Sept. 18, in All Saints’ Chapel. During the service, new members of the Order of the Gown will be inducted, and student recipients of awards and prizes will be announced. Dr. Renia Dotson, C’88, chair of the University Board of Regents, will deliver the Convocation address. The Advent Convocation ceremony will be livestreamed.

Sewanee has been named the No. 1 college in the nation for getting outdoors in The Princeton Review’s inaugural “Great Outdoors: Students Get Outside” ranking. The recognition highlights the extraordinary ways students engage with the University’s 13,000-acre Domain, through one of the nation’s most active collegiate outdoor programs, the Sewanee Outing Program, as well as hands-on environmental research, sustainability initiatives, and more. The ranking is part of The Princeton Review’s  2027 edition of its “The Best 392 Colleges” guidebook, which again recognizes Sewanee among the nation’s best colleges.

Sewanee welcomes the Class of 2030—474 first-year students selected from 5,631 applications—to the Mountain. They join 26 transfer students, bringing the University’s total number of new students to 500. The incoming class represents 38 states and jurisdictions and 11 countries—and, perhaps most notably, a growing number of students who knew early that Sewanee was where they wanted to be.

The University Choir is currently traveling through Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as part of its 2026 Canadian summer tour, continuing the ensemble’s longstanding tradition of international performance and sacred music ministry.

Sewanee student Louise Block, C'28, won third place in the national finals of the National Student Auditions (NSA) at the 2026 National Conference of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), the premier professional organization of American voice teachers. The conference and Auditions took place in San Antonio from July 3 to 7. Block was one of only 16 national semifinalists for her category, Classical 1st- & 2nd-year Collegiate Treble, and advanced as one of just three national finalists.