May 2008

Old friends, good times

Reunion kicked off with a little learning and ended with a big heart.

Attendees of the May 2-3 Reunion had an opportunity to participate in learning sessions — a first this year — as well as see a demonstration of the upcoming online community. But the biggest draw, as always, was seeing old friends and catching up on each other's lives.

Reunion-goers took tours of campus, seeing new buildings and reminiscing about their old haunts. Some women from the Class of 1948 told a staff member about sunbathing topless on the tennis courts.

Alumni were awarded, dined and feted throughout the two-day event. The highlight came with the Grand Reunion Luncheon, when the Class of 1958 was honored as the 50th-year reunioning class. They presented the university with a $1,080,663 check — the largest class gift in university history and the first to exceed the million-dollar mark. The funds go to support scholarships, programs or other areas of interest for the alumnae who donated.

The luncheon was also special because the UNCG Alumni Association honored outgoing Chancellor Patricia A. Sullivan with a plaque which will go alongside a dogwood tree to be planted in her honor. It reads: “This dogwood tree, a favorite flower of Chancellor Patricia A. Sullivan, was presented to her by the UNCG Alumni Association with love and gratitude for an extraordinary legacy as UNCG's first woman chancellor.”

Sullivan will retire July 31.