Alumni Reunion 2013 Underway July 12-14

07/12/2013 

More than 500 alumni and friends will enjoy class get-togethers, parties and other activities on campus and at the Lynne Parks ’68 SUNY Cortland Alumni House from Friday, July 12, through Sunday, July 14, during Alumni Reunion 2013.

“We are excited for another great turnout at our largest alumni event of the year,” said Kathryn McKenna '12, interim assistant director of alumni affairs. “As always, the Parks Alumni House and campus will be the focal points for the majority of events, while community establishments will service many class gatherings. It is sure to give alumni the opportunity to take a walk down memory lane while also seeing the enhancements made to their alma mater.”

Alumni chose a cruise as an enjoyable way to reconnect with former classmates during this past alumni reunion weekend.

Reunion opened Friday with the Hamilton Building Services Golf Tournament at the Cortland Country Club. The Classes of 1958, 1953 and 1963 enjoyed a boat cruise on one of the Finger Lakes. The Class of 1958 traveled to Seneca Lake for a wine tour.

Also on Friday afternoon, the SUNY Cortland Alumni Association, the Cortland College Foundation and President Erik J. Bitterbaum will host a special reception for the Reunion Committee members at Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. The Class of 1963 will celebrate its 50th reunion with a dinner held at the Parks Alumni House. The featured fraternity, Beta Phi Epsilon classes from 1927 to 1995, and featured sorority, Nu Sigma Chi, will begin their weekend with welcome parties. Once again this year, the Cortland College Foundation will host a welcome reception for all alumni on the front lawn at the Parks Alumni House.

Saturday’s events include campus tours, a hike of Hoxie Gorge, classes offered by alumni for alumni and tours of the Parks Alumni House. Participants include the Half Century Club, comprised of alumni who graduated more than 50 years ago; the Classes of 1948, 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983 and 1988; sisters of Nu Sigma Chi sorority and Beta Phi Epsilon fraternity. Members of Nu Sigma Chi sorority will sponsor an alumnae tea from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at their house on 52 Prospect Terrace.

The SUNY Cortland Alumni Association will present its highest honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award, to one graduate, and an Honorary Alumna award to one individual during the Alumni Reunion 2013 luncheon. One alumna will be honored with a Distinguished Young Alumni award. The luncheon begins Saturday at noon in the Corey Union Function Room and honors reunion classes and award recipients.

The 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are:

• Mary Joy Greene Sherlach ’78, a school psychologist killed in the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shootings last year, who will be posthumously recognized.

• Louise Conley, retiring chair of the Cortland College Foundation Board of Directors, who will be named an Honorary Alumna.

• Sarah Child ’07, a scientist who studies Antarctic glaciers, who will be named this year’s Distinguished Young Alumna.

Immediately following the luncheon, the fun shifts downtown. For the fourth time, alumni can participate in Cortland Downtown Partnership’s “Taste of Downtown.” Participants will enjoy food and beverage samples from numerous city eateries, listen to musical performances and receive a commemorative wine glass. The Nu Sigma Chi Legacy Fund will again underwrite an All-Greek Reception at the Parks Alumni House. The reception also serves to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the construction of the Parks Alumni House.

Dinners for individual classes, Nu Sigma Chi Sorority and Beta Phi Epsilon fraternity brothers from 1927 to 1995 will be held Saturday evening at various campus and downtown locations and for the first time at Greek Peak’s Hope Lake Lodge. Nu Sigma Chi sorority and the Classes of 1983 and 1988 will celebrate their reunions with dinners at the Parks Alumni House.

On Sunday, a farewell breakfast for all classes is scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. at the Parks Alumni House. Nu Sigma Chi sorority will have a farewell breakfast in the front lawn of the Parks Alumni House. The Beta Phi Epsilon brothers will enjoy a farewell breakfast in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. Before departing, Beta Phi Epsilon will tour the former fraternity house at 36 Tompkins St.

The campus community is encouraged to attend Alumni Reunion 2013. For more information, contact the Alumni Affairs Office at 607-753-2516 or visit the website at cortland.edu/reunion.