Stag Traditions
Some of our traditions are rooted in religion and reflection while others give us a chance to celebrate our accomplishments. And many are just plain fun! These yearly events bring our community together and truly become the heartbeat of our Fairfield Community.
Presidential Ball
The President's Ball — commonly known as Pres Ball — is amazing! Each September, the President of Fairfield University welcomes students to the lawn of our famous Bellarmine Hall for a glamorous night in Stag Country. Don your finest threads, grab your friends, and be prepared to dance the night away.
FUSA Concert
Every fall, we kick off our basketball season with a pep rally for our men’s and women’s teams. After some slam dunks, giveaways, and other red sea madness, we welcome our fall concert artist. Who will it be next year?
Alumni and Family Weekend
Each October, Alumni & Family come together for a weekend of special events and fun activities during the annual Alumni & Family Weekend. Alumni enjoy mini-reunions with friends and classmates and find out what’s new on campus and families can see how their students are doing after a couple months away at college. Come see for yourself. Reconnect. Enjoy. Don’t miss this year’s AFW!
First Fairfield Friday
Celebrate the start of the year with a series of events: community barbecue, President’s Welcome, student activities fair, a photobooth, and more!
Never a Dull Moment in Stag Country
Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony
This event officially kicks off the Fairfield’s Holiday Season by lighting the large tree by the Egan Chapel Patio! Holiday remarks are delivered by President Mark R. Nemec, PhD, as well as Christmas carols sung by our two on-campus acapella groups, The Bensonians and Sweet Harmony!
Clam Jam
It's the springtime celebration Stags alumni remember, the last hoorah of the semester that students now can't wait to attend, and the end-of-year tradition that future generations of Stags will be enjoying for years to come. It's Clam Jam! The long-standing event brings students together at the Fairfield beach for sand, sun, food and friends—and one more afternoon to dance away their cares before finals arrive.
Commencement
Commencement is the year-end ritual celebrated at every college and university for the conferring of “the degrees in course” to the graduating students. Fairfield University holds two commencements on the third weekend in May at 9:30 a.m. — graduate exercises are held on Saturday, and undergraduate exercises are held on Sunday.
Senior Week
As the year winds down in the spring and it’s about time to say goodbye to our seniors, the university holds a week-long celebration of events, culminating friendship, service, and reflection of the Fairfield experience one last time. From one last dance at the Commencement Ball to ziplining at the amazing local Adventure Park, this week runs the gamut in pure fun.
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Student Research Symposium
The Student Research Symposium celebrates research at Fairfield as students showcase the research projects they've developed in collaboration with faculty mentors to develop projects that extend from the classroom to the world.
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Fairfield StartUp Competition
Fairfield StartUp Showcase The Fairfield StartUp Showcase is the University’s annual entrepreneurship competition and part of the Fairfield StartUp program. At the Showcase select teams, made up of student entrepreneurs, make their business pitches to a panel of investors to compete for seed money in front of a live audience.
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Walk on Water
Teams of students, mostly first-years and sophomores, put their “Fundamentals of Engineering” course skills to the test with this kinetic, project-based design work that has them build a contraption that must “walk on water” or rather, align with engineering principles to get them efficiently across the pool in record time.
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Mass of the Holy Spirit
The Mass of the Holy Spirit marks the start of the academic year in Catholic universities globally, uniting millions in spiritual celebration. It features a festive procession of students, faculty, staff, and administration, special prayers for the community.
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Clinical Initiation Ceremony
The ceremony serves as both the starting point of the nurses' clinical practice and as a commemoration of the values they will carry with them as they set out into professional healthcare settings.
