The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is rolling out the orange carpet to welcome new Vols to campus during its annual Welcome Week.

The week is designed to help first-year and transfer students get settled. Events kick off Saturday, Aug. 15, as students move in to residence halls beginning at 8 a.m. More than 7,000 students will reside on campus this fall.

UT expects to enroll 4,722 freshmen this year. Classes begin Aug. 19.

Welcome Week offers more than 40 activities and events for both new and returning students through Saturday, Aug. 22. For a full Welcome Week schedule, visit http://welcomeweek.utk.edu. 

The first large event begins at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, in Thompson-Boling Arena with Torch Night. A UT tradition since 1925, Torch Night formally welcomes all new students to the university community as upperclassmen symbolically pass down the Torch of Preparation to the freshman class.

Students will learn the Volunteer Cheers, hear from coaches, and sing “Rocky Top” with the Pride of the Southland Band during the UT Pep Rally. They will then head to the Humanities and Social Sciences Building Amphitheater for the New Student Picnic.

Life of the Mind book discussions will take place at 3 p.m. across campus on Monday, Aug. 17, where small groups of first-year students and faculty leaders will come together to discuss this year’s assigned book, “The Book of Unknown Americans” by Cristina Henriquez. Students will hear the author speak at 5:30 p.m. in Thompson-Boling Arena followed by a book signing.

The Life of the Mind program is a component of First-Year Studies 100, in which students read the same book and participate in small-group discussions.