JWU

University Events

Throughout the year, the university invites the JWU community to gather together to celebrate. Mark your calendars and plan to be a part of these signature events.

Events Calendar
JWU Today
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Traditions That Mark the Year

These bookend a year at JWU: the week new students arrive, the fall weekend families visit and the day graduates cross the stage. Both campuses invite students, parents, alumni and their communities to join in the celebrations.

Welsome week with the club involvement in Gaebe Commons

Welcome Week

Move-in day comes first, then a full week before classes start. New students meet their roommates, learn their way around campus and go to events built around meeting people. Families are part of move-in day.

Welcome Week in Rhode Island
Welcome week in North Carolina
Family poses with WIldcat Wilie during Homecoming

Homecoming & Family Weekend

Families and alumni are on campus at the same time. Expect games, food, music and time to see campus. Registration, parking and hotel details are on each campus page.

Rhode Island weekend details
North Carolina Weekend Details
Students celebrate after receiving their diplomas

Commencement

Graduates cross the stage, an honorary degree recipient and a student speaker address the class, and families fill the seats. Each campus page covers ceremony times, tickets, regalia and parking.

Commencement in Rhode Island
Commencement in North Carolina
Student presents at the annual student symposium

Student Research, Design & Innovation Symposium

Every spring, students present work they’ve spent a term or a year building: research posters, prototypes, design projects and industry projects. Undergraduate and graduate students from across JWU’s colleges take part, and visitors include employers, alumni and people from hospitals, schools and government offices. Providence and Charlotte hold the event on separate dates.

Symposium details

Academic and Industry Events

The rest of the year brings working professionals to campus and puts student work in front of an audience. Some events take registration and some you can walk into.

T.J. Delle Donne presents at the FIT symposium

FIT Symposium

JWU’s College of Food Innovation & Technology brings chefs, farmers, food writers, entrepreneurs and researchers to the Providence Campus to talk about where food is headed next. Past guests include Jacques Pépin ’10 Hon., Emeril Lagasse ’78, ’90 Hon. and Aarón Sánchez. Students sit in on the panels and work alongside the professionals in the workshops. Registration is paid and required in advance.

Loren Spears speaking to students

Cultural Life Series

Guests come to of talk about history, culture and how people live. The 2026 series brought together Bill Bartholomew, a Providence journalist and host of the Bartholomewtown podcast, and historian C. Morgan Grefe, Ph.D., who directs the Rhode Island Historical Society, for a conversation about who decides which pieces of history get preserved.

Cindy Bigelow talks with students in the Bigelow beverage lab

Visiting Industry Professional

JWU invites one leader from business, food or hospitality to spend time on the Providence campus, meeting with students across majors rather than a single program. Past guests include Cindi Bigelow ’19 Hon. of Bigelow Tea and John Hazen White Jr. ’96 Hon. of Taco Group Holdings.

Where to Eat and Stay

Most of these events bring families into Providence, R.I. or Charlotte, N.C. for a long weekend. Our city guides cover where to eat, where to stay and what’s worth seeing while you’re here.

Plan your visit to Providence
Plan your visit to Charlotte