We're heading into our usual season of celebration on campus, where over the next month students and faculty, as well as the staff that ably support them, proudly receive accolades for a job well done!

April 25 at the Cook Campus Center we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Excellence Awards of the school and the experiment station. Aptly named "Celebration of Excellence," this event recognizes our faculty and staff's finest work and highlights the accomplishments of our George H. Cook scholars.

Spread out over every corner of our campus, Ag Field Day, a tradition that traces its roots to 1906, draws thousands for this annual festivity. Now part of the larger Rutgers Day celebrations, we open our campus to our alumni and friends, and invite New Jersey residents to participate in our many programs on the George H. Cook Campus on April 27.

On May 17, the Cook Campus Center will host the traditional Baccalaureate ceremony, which sometimes falls literally on the eve of one of the biggest days in the lives of our newest graduates - Commencement! I imagine that students and parents alike meet this day with a mixture of relief and excitement that graduation day is almost here!

The pinnacle of our season of celebration is, of course, our school convocation where we applaud our faculty for their role in teaching and inspiring yet another generation of graduates, and, in turn, individually recognize the young men and women who make up the graduating class. We've been privileged to be responsible for their growth and development in and out of the classroom, so let's send them out in grand style to make their mark in the world. Barring inclement weather, we will celebrate the Class of 2013 and their achievements at Passion Puddle on May 20.