From as long ago as the Class of
1933, and as far away as Italy,
they're coming back to campus for ReUnion 2004.
With registrations up 19 percent
over this time last year, members of the Alumni Relations office are confident
they will break last year's record of 1,400, second only to the Bicentennial
event in 1995.
“The alumni spirit is alive and
well,” said Nick Famulare '92, “This is a campus-wide event as we welcome back
the sons and daughters of Union College.
Everyone [on campus] is playing a role in this weekend.”
The Alumni Parade, a perennial
highlight of ReUnion, steps off Saturday at 10:30 a.m. from Alexander
Lane. It will end around 11 a.m. at Memorial Chapel with the Alumni Convocation
and “Required” Chapel.
The Alumni Council will present
Alumni Gold Medals to William Burns '54, retired vice chairman and director of
NYNEX and life trustee of the College; James Lippman '79, president of JRK
Asset Management and chair of ReUnion 2004; and Dr. Estelle Cooke-Sampson '74,
a Washington, D.C.-based radiologist and trustee of the College. George Gmelch,
professor of anthropology and leader of many Union term abroad programs, is to
receive the Faculty Meritorious Service Award.
Saturday evening will include the ReUnion gala, starting at 7 p.m. in the tent at Library Plaza, with music by the Swing Docs. The evening will end at 10 p.m. with a ReUnion favorite: fireworks, donated by Steve Ente ‘75.
Of particular interest this year are
several “affinity” programs, Famulare said.
The Choral ReUnion Concert on
Saturday at 3 p.m. in Memorial Chapel
will feature more than 120 alumni from six decades performing under the
direction of Prof. Emeritus Hugh Allen Wilson and Prof. Victor Klimash. The
alumni singers also will meet for a barbecue on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. on
the Reamer Campus Center Patio.
Also gaining momentum is the
Student-Alumni Association Reception on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Reamer Campus Center 410. Leaders of current
student organizations including Student Forum, Concordiensis, WRUC and Montebanks will meet with alumni who were
members of those organizations. “Alumni are eager to see if those organizations
have changed,” Famulare said, “And the students are excited to meet the leaders
who came before them.”
“Entertainment Today: Live from Union
College” is set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Joann Yarrow, assistant professor of
theater, will moderate a discussion on careers in the entertainment field with panelists
Jay Kohn '74, production manager at the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts; Julie Greifer Swidler '79, entertainment attorney now with
Arista Records; Laura Modlin '84, writer and producer; Tom Riis Farrell '81,
actor; Peter Sears '79, comedian and staff writer for “The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno”; and actor Jeffrey DeMunn '69, whose credits include The Shawshank Redemption and TV shows The West Wing, Law & Order and ER.
For a complete schedule of events
for ReUnion 2004, visit http://www.union.edu/ReUnion/.