Note: Due to the pandemic, all events below are conditions-based. Changes will be noted here.

The Citadel Parents’ Weekend

Friday, Oct. 1 – Sunday, Oct. 3
Various times
The Citadel campus
Free, open to the public

Relatives and friends will be welcomed to the college campus during The Citadel’s annual Parents’ Weekend Friday, Oct. 1 – Sunday, Oct. 3. Highlights of the weekend include a Ring Presentation Ceremony for The Citadel Class of 2022, the promotion of fourth-class cadets from recruits to privates and a Saturday dress parade. There will also be a diverse range of religious services on Sunday, Oct. 14.

For a full schedule of Parents’ Weekend with specific times, events and locations, please click here.

The first Parents’ Day at The Citadel was held in 1934. Today it is one of the college’s four major weekends.

Due to construction related to the Capers Hall replacement project, parking on campus is extremely limited. Carpooling or travelling to campus via taxi, Uber, Lyft or other service is highly recommended.

Team entry packets due for Round 1 of the Baker Business Bowl VIII

Monday, Oct. 4
Due at 5 p.m.
Free, open to all Citadel cadets and students

It’s the first key date for the Baker Business Bowl VIII.

Budding entrepreneurs who have an idea for a product or service can compete for $10,000 to turn that dream into a reality. To compete, teams must submit their entry packets before 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 4; packets should be submitted both electronically to sswartwo@citadel.edu and physically to Bastin Hall, room 316.

The teams chosen to compete in the semi-finals will be announced on the Baker Business Bowl website on Monday, Oct. 25. The semi-final competition will be held Thursday, Nov. 11.

The Baker Business Bowl is a program aimed at helping budding entrepreneurs who have an idea for a new product or service, and the desire to turn that idea into a business. It’s open to cadets, evening undergraduate students, and graduate students.

Contestants participate in teams and compete in three rounds over the academic year. The final five teams are given the opportunity to attend a series of educational workshops on how to develop their full business plan.

Presentation on anti-money laundering and terrorist financing

Tuesday, Oct. 5
5:30 p.m.
Bastin Hall, room 303
Free, open to the public

The Citadel’s chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, an honors organization for those studying financial information, will host a speaker on Oct. 5 at 5:30 p.m.

Peter Wild, from management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, will give a presentation titled “How financial institutions have become an extension of law enforcement.”

He will discuss some of the origins of money laundering and financing of terrorism, with some examples. Some techniques for moving value without moving cash will be covered. It goes on to describe the global guidance for anti-money laundering and the regulatory environment for financial institutions mainly in the USA.

Founded in 1919, Beta Alpha Psi is an honor organization for financial information students and professionals. Only AACSB and/or EQUIS accredited colleges and universities are eligible.

The Citadel Beta Alpha Psi acquired a petitioning chapter in 2018 and expected to be a regular chapter in 2021. It is currently recruiting new members. Those interested in applying need to have a 3.0 GPA or high and must be an accounting or finance major. 

International Conference on Romanticism 2021

Thursday, Oct. 14 – Saturday, Oct. 16
Various times
Marriott Hotel (170 Lockwood Blvd, Charleston, SC)
Portions are free and open to the public

Multiple members of The Citadel community will participate in the International Conference on Romanticism.

The beginning panel, Charleston Bound, will be held at 5:30 on Thursday, Oct. 14, and will also be streamed on Facebook Live. The superstar lineup of panelists includes The Citadel Department of History professor Felice Knight, Ph.D. The panel will introduce participants to the history of Charleston relating to slavery.

Other members of The Citadel community will present throughout the conference. Registration is required to attend most events.

The conference theme is intended to accommodate a wide range of papers across such disciplines as art history, cultural history, literary studies, musicology, anthropology, and philosophy. The International Conference on Romanticism was founded in 1991 and aims to further the study of Romanticism across linguistic, national and political disciplines.

CGC in-person open house

Tuesday, Oct. 19
6 – 7:30 p.m.
Johnson Hagood Stadium, 4th Floor Club Level
Free, open to the public

The Citadel Graduate College will hold an in-person open house on Tuesday, Oct. 19 from 6 – 7:30 at Johnson Hagood Stadium, 4th Floor Club Level.

There is no cost for this event and it is open to anyone who may be interested in finding out about graduate programs or college transfer programs at The Citadel. Program directors and other faculty will be on site so that interested students can find out more about specific programs, the admissions process and other student services that are available to them.

To register for the event, click here. Additional information on the open house — and The Citadel Graduate College as a whole — can be found on their Facebook page.

Annual China Town Hall and discussion

Tuesday, Oct. 19
6 – 8 p.m.
Bond 165, The Citadel campus
Free, open to the public

The Citadel will participate in a nationwide event on U.S.-China relations, from 7 – 8 p.m. on Oct. 19. This event will be webcast live.

From 6 – 7 p.m., prior to the live webcast, Shao-cheng (Michael) Sun, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science at The Citadel, will present and lead a discussion on “Increasing U.S.-China Confrontation: China’s Rising Power.”

CNN host and best-selling author Fareed Zakaria will be the featured speaker for CHINA Town Hall 2021, a national conversation on how the U.S.-China relationship affects our cities, towns and communities.

The Citadel will join more than 80 venues across the country for the program, which will feature Zakaria in conversation with National Committee on U.S.-China Relations President Stephen Orlins, preceded by on-site discussions about U.S.-China relations and the issues that are having an impact on each local community, its institutions and the people themselves.

Established in 1966, the National Committee on United States-China Relations is the leading American non-profit, non-partisan public affairs organization devoted to building constructive relations between the United States and Greater China.

The Class of 1979 Leadership Day

Wednesday, Oct. 20
Various time
The Citadel campus and locations throughout the community
Open to the media

On Wednesday, Oct. 20, regularly scheduled classes are replaced with a Leadership Day training, seminar or service project for all cadets. The cadets will engage in service activities at more than 20 locations in the Lowcountry, such as leading classroom activities and cleaning up parks. They will also attend seminars on leadership and civic learning.

This year, Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. Kyle White will be participating in Leadership Day activities, including presenting to the freshmen on Tuesday, Oct. 19.

For the first time, this year’s Leadership Day will include a closing ceremony, with short remarks from Col. Tom Clark, USMC (Ret.), ’85, executive director of the Krause Center, Col. Thomas Gordon, USMC (Ret.), ’91, the Commandant of Cadets, and Sgt. White. Those remarks will be followed by a Lowcountry Boil for the cadets.

On average, more than 8,000 hours of service to the Lowcountry are provided by the cadets each Leadership Day, and more than 20,000 annually. The Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics sponsors the event.

A nearly $1 million donation from the alumni class permanently endowed the Class of 1979 Leadership Day.

Leverett Lecture hosted by the Department of Psychology

Thursday, Oct. 21
6:15 – 7:30 p.m.
Bastin Hall, room 105
Free, open to the public

The Citadel’s Department of Psychology will host a Leverett Lecture on Oct. 21 titled “Well-being is a skill,” which will be delivered by guest lecturer Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D.

Davidson is the founder of Healthy Minds and is recognized as one of the most influential psychologists today and is a “friend and confidante” of the Dalai Lama.

This event will be hosted on campus in Bastin 105; Davidson will join via Zoom.

The talk will consider scientific evidence that suggests that we can change our brains by transforming our minds and cultivate habits of mind that will improve well-being. These include happiness, resilience, compassion and emotional balance. Mental training to cultivate well-being has profound implications for the workplace including its impact on leadership, creativity, employee health, productivity and collaboration.

Each year The Department of Psychology invites a guest speaker to give the Leverett Lecture and opens the event to all faculty, staff, students and the community.

J. Patrick Leverett, Ph.D., served as a faculty member in The Citadel’s Department of Psychology for ten years. In July 2005, Leverett died tragically in a plane crash in Alaska. Upon his death, this annual event was created in his honor and to commemorate his many contributions to The Citadel.

Presentation on “The Citadel’s Climate Center: Working with the Lowcountry to Identify and Manage Climate threats”

Monday, Oct. 25
1 – 2 p.m.
Streamed via Zoom
Open to members of the College of Charleston Center for Creative Retirement

Scott Curtis, Ph.D., director of The Citadel’s Lt. Col. James B. Near Jr., USAF, ’77 Center for Climate Studies, will discuss the Center’s work to help the Lowcountry deal with climate change.

Curtis will be speaking to the College of Charleston Center for Creative Retirement, focusing on the Center’s plans to involve The Citadel faculty across disciplines in climate research. Some of the areas the center plans to research are potential flooding fixes, environmental health issues, water quality, identifying dangerous microbes and microplastics in flood water and changing climate affects on national security.

Freshmen Pumpkin Carving Contest

Wednesday, Oct. 27
4 – 7 p.m.
Riverview Room, The Citadel campus
Free, open to media

The Swain Family School of Science and Mathematics will host a pumpkin carving contest on Wednesday, Oct. 27, to help freshmen cadets get into the Halloween spirit.

The competition will be held in the Riverview Room from 4 – 7 p.m. Food and drinks will be provided.

Cadets will form into teams of four or five, and many use what they’ve learned in their classes to help design or construct their pumpkins.

There will be various other competitions throughout the event. Judges will analyze the pumpkins based on visual impact, craftmanship and quality, originality and best in show; prizes will be awarded to the teams who best showcase their pumpkin-carving skills.

Four cadets from The Citadel attend National Honors Conference

Wednesday Oct. 27 – Sunday Oct. 31
Walt Disney World – Orlando, FL

The Citadel Honors Program is sending four cadets along with the director, Deirdre Ragan, Ph.D., to the National Collegiate Honors Council Annual Conference at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.

While at the conference, the delegates from The Citadel will attend presentations, keynote speeches and round table discussions on a wide variety of student led research topics, from a pool of thousands of fellow honors students studying around the nation. Additionally, all four cadets submitted research presentation applications to the panel for an opportunity to present their own work to the conference, with all applications from The Citadel making the cut.

Their four presentations range in topic from the Arts and Humanities to Intelligence and STEM fields as well. Leading these cadets, Ragan’s work in STEM field accessibility was also selected for presentation at the conference.

Public lecture from The Citadel’s Visiting Fulbright Scholar

Thursday, Oct. 28
5 p.m.
Greater Issues Room, Mark Clark Hall
Free, open to the public

The Citadel School of Humanities and Social Science’s first Visiting Fulbright Scholar, Marc Doucet, Ph.D., will give a public lecture on Thursday, Oct. 28.

The address will focus on the humanitarian governance of international intervention.

Doucet joins The Citadel from Saint Mary’s University, where is is a full professor of Political Science. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of Ottawa and his Baccalaureate in Social Sciences with a specialization in Political Science from the Université de Moncton.

While at The Citadel this semester, Doucet will be collaborating with members of the Department of Political Science and teaching an advanced special topics course on Critical International Relations for cadets and day students.

Special events during October home football games

The Citadel Football vs. VMI
Parents’ Weekend

Saturday, Oct. 2
2 p.m.
Johnson Hagood Stadium

Tickets starting at $17, to purchase call 843-953-3647 or visit citadelsports.com/tickets.

The Citadel Football’s game against VMI on Parents’ Weekend will feature a foam finger giveaway, a pregame flyover, a halftime drill performance by the Summerall Guards and a postgame presentation of the Silver Shako Trophy to the winning team. 

The Citadel Football vs. Western Carolina
Leaders in Philanthropy, Faculty & Staff Appreciation, and Medical Professional Day

Oct. 23
2 p.m.
Johnson Hagood Stadium

A special buy one, get one ticket deal is available for faculty and staff of The Citadel and a group ticket price of $10 each is available for medical professionals. All other tickets start at $17. To purchase call 843-953-3647 or visit citadelsports.com/tickets.

The Citadel Athletics invite all leaders in philanthropy, faulty and staff and medical professionals out to The Citadel Football game against Western Carolina. The game will include recognition throughout the game.

Athletics will also be collecting images of faculty and staff and medical professionals to show on the videoboard at the game. Send pictures of you, your friends or family working at The Citadel or in a medical profession to sportmarketing@citadel.edu to be shown on the videoboard during pregame. All pictures must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 21st.

The Citadel Football vs. Mercer
Hall of Fame, Gold Star Kidet Game, Educators’ Day, FCA Day and JROTC Day

Oct. 30
2 p.m.
Johnson Hagood Stadium

A special buy one, get one ticket deal is available for Gold Star Kidets and a group ticket price of $10 each is available for educators, FCA members and JROTC members. All other tickets start at $17. To purchase call 843-953-3647 or visit citadelsports.com/tickets.

The Citadel Athletics invite all educators, Gold Star Kidets, FCA members and JROTC members out to The Citadel Football game against Mercer. Educators and groups in attendance will be recognized throughout the game.
Athletics will also be collecting images of educatorsto show on the videoboardat the game. Send pictures of you, yourfriends or family working as an educator to sportmarketing@citadel.edu to be shown on the videoboard during pregame.All pictures must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 28.

The Gold Star Kidets Program is a community outreach program to motivate the youth in the area to work hard in the classroom. This program is to model the academic success and the symbolism of the “Gold Star” for the Corps of Cadets recognized for their high performance in the classroom. Elementary aged students (1^st – 6^th grade) achieving all As and Bs on their report card will be awarded a buy one get one ticket for Gold Star Kidet games, a sticker, a certificate and have their name on the videoboard providing they purchase a ticket more than 48 hours before game day. For more information and to sign up click here.

Cyber Awareness Month events for the campus community

The Citadel’s Department of Cyber and Computer Sciences will hold multiple events throughout October, which is Cyber Security Awareness Month, for members of The Citadel community.

The department’s dates and events for the month include:

Oct. 6: Citadel Department of Defense Cyber Institute (CDCI) will be partnering with the Career Center to welcome and speak with students regarding cybersecurity careers at the Career Fair taking place in Buyer Auditorium.

Oct. 13: CDCI will host a student-led Lunch and Learn in the Riverview Room; this event will be open to faculty and staff.

Oct. 20: CDCI will participate in Leadership Day, which will include speaker(s) from the industry and giveaways.