1,100 to Return for Reunion Weekend

May 25, 2018

About 1,100 alumni, family, and friends will return to campus for the College’s 139th Alumni Reunion Weekend from Thursday, May 31, through Sunday, June 3.

Alumni from 45 states, the District of Columbia, and five foreign countries — Bolivia, Canada, Hungary, Sweden, and the United Kingdom — have registered for Reunion Weekend.

Nearly 75 graduates are expected to attend the 50th reunion of the Class of 1968. Other featured reunion classes this year are the classes of 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1963, 1964, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2008.

Reunion is one of the college’s biggest social events with parties, dances, dinners, and family activities. Other weekend highlights include:

an all-Reunion picnic
class dinners
Faulconer Gallery exhibition of new acquisition
an artist talk by Bennett Bean, Class of 1963
a golf scramble and Pioneer Athletics Reception
a fun run
bike and walking tours of the campus and community, and
a Music in the Park community concert featuring Jackie Myers, Class of 2006

The Alumni Council has selected 10 alumni who will receive Alumni Awards during Alumni Assembly, which will start at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 2, in Herrick Chapel, 1128 Park St., Grinnell. The Alumni Award recognizes individuals who embody the College’s mission of lifetime learning, and service. Recipients have distinguished themselves by their service to their careers, their community, and/or the College.

The recipients are:

Rachel Bly '93, Grinnell, Iowa
Adrienne Enriquez '98, Portland, Oregon
Deborah Feir '68, Decatur, Georgia
Catherine “Kit” Gage '73, Silver Spring, Maryland
G. Barry Huff '73, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Peter Krantz '63, Edinburg, Texas
P. Carter Newton '77, Galena, Illinois
Kirpal Singh '97, Denver, Colorado
Douglas Spitz '78, Iowa City, Iowa
Margaret Tandoh '93, South Burlington, Vermont

Two days before Reunion, Alumni College events will start with registration from 3 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, May 29, in the lobby of the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center, 1115 Eighth Ave., Grinnell. Sessions will take place throughout the day from Wednesday, May 30, through Thursday, May 31. Alumni College will conclude with a breakfast on Friday, June 1.

Alumni College is so popular that it will have its biggest class ever with 132 registrants. To navigate the size of the group, two cohorts have been created for many classes, although both cohorts will join together for all meals and selected lectures.

Truth is the theme of this year’s Alumni College, which provides the chance for graduates to re-experience the intellectual stimulation of the classroom with faculty, alumni, and staff. Lectures and seminars will explore the meaning of truth and how it has evolved and changed. Attendees also will look at how truth can be defined in multiple ways and what that means for individuals’ lives now and in the future.