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On Wednesday, September 8, 2021, at 4:30pm, The American University of Paris launched its 60th academic year with an in-person Convocation ceremony at the American Church in Paris, where the University’s first classes were held in 1962. Students, staff and faculty were invited to attend in person, while alumni and friends of the University could follow the ceremony live on YouTube.

The ceremony welcomed students to the new academic year and included speeches from Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵ faculty and students. After an introduction from Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵ’s Vice President for Enrollment Management, Tim Rogers, President Celeste M. Schenck welcomed new students back to campus and discussed the theme of the University’s 60th Anniversary by asking what unites us as members of Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵ’s global community. Other speakers included Provost William Fisher, who officially opened the academic year and presented several faculty awards from the previous semester; Professor Jayson Harsin of the Department of Communication, Media and Culture, who spoke on the themes of technology, post-truth society and the human future; and Mitchell Rutledge, a student speaker, who spoke of his experiences and activism as a gay man both before and during college and offered his advice for his peers as they returned to campus for in-person classes.

You can watch the full recording of this year’s Convocation ceremony below.

To find out more about the University’s 60th anniversary, including ways in which you can participate in upcoming events, visit .