The University of Mississippi Associated Student Body announced its first ever Creed Week, which will be held Sept. 16-20. The week, sponsored by the ASB, will recognize the tenth anniversary of the University Creed.

“(Creed Week) is to honor and bring dedication to the University Creed,” ASB President Greg Alston said. “We want a lot of students to participate in this important week, not in reflection of anything that has happened in our past, but to think about how to live our lives in the future.”

Several administrators and faculty members have been in full support of the week, according to Alston.

“I am very pleased that the ASB has taken this opportunity to recognize the Creed,” Dean of Students Sparky Reardon said. “It’s always great to have the community stop and reflect on something as important as the Creed, and the tenth anniversary is a great time to do just that.”

The week features a keynote speech by Ole Miss Athletics Director Ross Bjork Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Ford Center. Alston said the decision to choose Bjork as the speaker was not difficult.

“Ross Bjork exemplifies everything in the Creed on a daily basis, so it was almost a no-brainer to ask him to be the first speaker,” he said.

In addition to the keynote speech, other campus-wide events will highlight the week. All week long, a leather-bound book will be available in the Student Union for any student or faculty member to sign.

“This is hopefully something that can be used for years to come,” Alston said. “It will be a large book that will have many, many lined pages that everyone can sign.”

Another main event of the week will be the Creed Week awards, which will recognize one student and one faculty or staff member for their representation of the University Creed.

“(The awards) are meant to recognize people for doing something that exemplifies the Creed in their daily lives,” Alston said. “There will be a form on our website to nominate any current student, faculty or staff member.”

The Creed Week opening ceremony will be Sept. 16 at noon in the Union Plaza. The closing ceremony will be Sept. 19 at 4 p.m. at Fulton Chapel. The Bjork keynote speech is free to attend, but attendees must have a ticket, which can be picked up from the box office in the Student Union.

“The Creed is a document that stands alone because of its specialty,” Alston said. “We want to recognize that.”