We will be hosting the University's first fully virtual New Student Convocation to celebrate our new incoming class! Since 2007, the New Student Convocation has been an annual celebration of learning, collaboratively planned by Student Affairs and Academic Affairs for the new students entering CSUN each fall. This event serves as a formal welcome extended to the entering class by the President, administration and campus community. This program has been one of the primary mainstays of the university’s welcome programs signaling the start of each academic year.
New Student Convocation
History
This program is distinguished by its past keynote speakers and by its recognition by the campus receiving the CSUN Team Award in 2008 which noted the campus-wide collaboration and involvement required to plan and to execute the event annually.
| YEAR | KEYNOTE SPEAKER | FRESHMAN COMMON READING BOOK |
| 2007 | Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien |
| 2008 | Barbara Ehrenreich | Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich |
| 2009 | Steve Lopez | The Soloist by Steve Lopez |
| 2010 | Holly Robinson-Peete | The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon |
| 2011 | Jeannette Walls | The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls |
| 2012 | Chitra Divakaruni | One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakaruni |
| 2013 | Edward Humes | Garbology by Edward Humes |
| 2014 | Drew Magary | The Postmortal by Drew Magary |
| 2015 | David Levithan | Every Day by David Levithan |
| 2016 | Jon Ronson | So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson |
| 2017 | Bree Newsome | Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates |
| 2018 | Nicole Maines & Wayne Maines | Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt |
Past New Student Convocations
2020 New Student Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 17, 2020
6 p.m. - Zoom Webinar
Video Link: 2020 New Student Convocation
2019 New Student Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 12, 2019
6 p.m. - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - Lauren Markham
Video Link: 2019 New Student Convocation
2018 New Student Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 13, 2018
6 p.m. - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - Nicole Maines
Video Link: 2018 Freshman Convocation
*this video is not captioned, but will be very soon and we apologize for this inconvenience*
2017 Freshman Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 14, 2017
6 p.m. - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - Bree Newsome
Video Link: 2017 Freshman Convocation
2016 Freshman Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 15, 2016
6 p.m. - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - Jon Ronson
Author of So You've Been Publicly Shamed - the Freshman Common Reading for 2016
Video Link: 2016 Freshman Convocation
2015 Freshman Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 10, 2015
6 p.m. - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - David Levithan
Author of Every Day - the Freshman Common Reading for 2015
Video Link: 2015 Freshman Convocation
2014 Freshman Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 4, 2014
6 p.m. - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - Drew Magary
Author of The Postmortal - the Freshman Common Reading for 2014
Video Link: 2014 Freshman Convocation
2013 Freshman Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 12, 2013
6 p.m. - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - Edward Humes
Author of Garbology - the Freshman Common Reading for 2013
Video link: 2013 Freshman Convocation
2012 Freshman Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 6, 2012
6 p.m. - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - Chitra Divakaruni
Author of One Amazing Thing - the Freshman Common Reading for 2012
Video link: 2012 Freshman Convocation
2011 Freshman Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 8, 2011
6:00pm - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - Jeannette Walls
Author of The Glass Castle – the Freshman Common Reading for 2011-2012
Video link: 2011 Freshman Convocation
2010 Freshman Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 2, 2010
6:00pm - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - Holly Robinson Peete
Actress, Author, Activist & Philanthropist
Video: 2010 Freshman Convocation
2009 Freshman Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 3, 2009
6 p.m. - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - Steve Lopez
Author of The Soloist - the Freshman Common Reading for 2009-2010
Video link: 2009 Freshman Convocation
2008 Freshman Convocation
Thursday, Sep. 4, 2008
6 p.m. - Oviatt Library lawn
Keynote Speaker - Barbara Ehrenreich
Author of Nickel and Dimed
Video link: 2008 Freshman Convocation
Alma Mater Music
Hail to the Matadors
By Richard Kaufman
Hail to all the Matadors
And to our school so dear.
As we move along the road of life,
let us keep from doubt or fear,
For the knowledge which we find here,
for all who urge us on.
The spirit of the red and white
Will brighten every dawn.
Where the sun is shining
And where truth leaves an open door,
to honor Strong and Courage Tall
We hail our Matador!
You may listen or download the MP3 file below:
To download the MP3 to your computer, right click on the following link, CSUN Alma Mater Music, and choose "save link as" to save to your computer.
If you cannot see the audio player above, you may need to download it. If you are using Internet Explorer please visit Microsoft. If you are using Firefox or Apple Safari, please visit Quicktime.
Freshman Common Reading
The 2020-2021 Freshman Common Reading book will be Educated by Tara Westover. Educated is an unforgettable memoir about a young girl who, kept out of school for most of her life, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University.
Click here for more information on the book and CSUN's Freshman Common Reading.
For more information, contact the Office of Student Involvement and Development at (818) 677-4100. Since staff are working remotely, you will be encouraged to send a direct email or leave a message. Emails can be sent to orientation staff at .
Disclaimer: The New Student Orientation website contains information authorized and available at the time of publication. The content, including dates is subject to change without prior notice or obligation.
