Wilkes University kicked off the 2025-26 academic year with Welcome Weekend, Aug. 21 to 24. The weekend of events was a prelude to the start of classes on Monday, Aug. 25.
Welcome Weekend
Move-in for first-year and transfer students started at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 21. Returning students moved in on Saturday and Sunday.
Welcome Weekend featured activities for first-year students including movie night, Colonel Carnival, a pizza party, a cookout, drag bingo, record painting and Waffles with Walter, Wilkes University’s first dog.
The New Class
Wilkes’ classes of 2029 and 2031 have approximately 565 new students. In addition, 83 full-time transfer students and more than 650 new graduate students will attend the University. This brings the total number of students enrolled in all of Wilkes’ programs to over 5,000.
Highlights from the first-year class:
- The incoming class features students from 23 states.
- Over 200 students are from Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, earning a Hometown Advantage Award.
- Forty-two percent (42%) are the first in their families to pursue a four-year degree.
- Thirty percent (30%) of the new class are student-athletes.
- Eight first-year students and two sophomores will join the Bonner Leader Program, bringing the total to 22 participants.
- The Honors Program welcomes 42 incoming first-year students, two transfer students and one first-year international student. With ten current students who were accepted this year, the current number of honors students totals 185.
- With this year’s 96 new students, the Barre Scholars Program grows to 339 students.
In addition, 17 new faculty members will mark their first fall semester at Wilkes, teaching classes in accounting, anthropology and Africana studies, chemistry, civil engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, nursing, performing arts, pharmacy practice, philosophy and psychology.
New Programs
With a focus on innovation, new program launches this year include:
- The bachelor of arts degree and minor in environmental studies offer a multidisciplinary focus that will prepare students to help solve global environmental issues. With courses in environmental science sustainability, geology, political science, history and philosophy, the program will open new career opportunities in the public and private sectors.
- Aimed at current and aspiring healthcare professionals, the medicinal cannabis certificate program will help meet the growing demand for healthcare workers with an understanding of cannabis and cannabis-related products. Offered fully online, the convenient program features a multidisciplinary approach to the use of cannabis for treatment, as well as the surrounding regulatory, ethical and clinical environments.
- The STEM-designated MBA program and the business analytics and AI certificate will help the next generation of leaders develop technological proficiency and an understanding of business strategy. These programs build on existing Wilkes courses to prepare students to meet evolving industry demands.
Campus Life
The summer months are always a busy time of year for projects on the downtown campus featuring a mix of historic mansions and modern facilities.
The most visible work focused on upgrades to the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts to make the facility more accessible for all users under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A new elevator, sidewalks, restrooms, seating and lighting were made possible by a $2.5 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant.
The facilities team has been hard at work on other enhancements across campus with renovations to Evans Hall, the wrestling room and HVAC in the Marts Center, new flooring in Roth Hall and Slocum Hall, the fourth floor façade of Stark Learning Center and the Cohen Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
The Wilkes University Police Department has also enhanced campus safety with added and upgraded security cameras.