Cluster reunions to be among highlights of weekend KINGSTON, R.I. — April 26, 2000 — The University of Rhode wants its alumni to know Alumni Weekend 2000, scheduled for June 1 through 3, won’t be the same without them. “So call your classmates, roommates, housemates, friends, sorority sisters and fraternity brothers,” said Susan Dooley Francis, assistant director of Alumni Relations. “Come back and join us. Come back and make a party of it.” There are some new features this year, such as cluster reunions, faculty excellence and innovation presentations, and Colleges on the Quad. All of the University’s 70,000 alumni are invited, but there is a special emphasis on reunion years from 1929 through 1976. This is how the cluster concept works. Members of the class of 1950 are celebrating their 50th reunion, and URI is inviting the classes of 1949 and 1951 to join them. “People who come to alumni weekend want to see people with whom they spent time on campus, and that may include people outside their class years,” Francis said. “People meet in the band, at the school newspaper, or through an athletics team, and they like the opportunity of meeting in groups across class years.” The other classes celebrating reunions and their corresponding cluster years are: class of 1955, 45th reunion, along with the classes of 1954 and 1956; class of 1960, 40th reunion, with 1959 and 1961; class of 1965, 35th reunion, with 1964 and 1966; and class of 1975, 25th reunion, with 1974 and 1976. In addition, the classes of 1930, 1935, 1940, and 1945, along with all alumni from 1929 through 1949, will celebrate their reunions together. The Alumni Association has made it easier this year for returning alumni to find out if their friends will be on hand by signing up or posting messages to classmates on the URI Web site, http://advance.uri.edu/events.htm, by clicking on the Reunion Class News entry. Reservations are requested by May 25. Alumni weekend festivities kick off on Thursday, June 1 with the annual Golden Grad Luncheon, and begin in earnest on Friday, June 2, with the Bay Queen Cruise on Narragansett Bay, which will depart from Warren at 10:45 a.m. for a shoreline tour of Newport, Jamestown and the surrounding area. A buffet lunch is served on the enclosed deck, along with live music. Cost is $25 per person. Starting at 4:30 p.m., alumni are invited to stop by the alumni tent before the 8:34 p.m. lighting of WaterFire, Barnaby Evans’ nighttime spectacle of fire and music on Providence’s riverfront. Stop by the tent for URI souvenirs and to enter the free raffle. “On Friday, we are focusing on Providence, because that’s where many of our alumni are,” Francis said. “We want to raise awareness that we have a beautiful campus in Providence, and our alumni are there too,” Francis said. On Saturday, June 3, the focus shifts to Kingston where from 9:15 – 10:45 a.m. faculty and staff will offer presentations on everything from the latest in transportation technology to estate planning to historic quilts. Advance registration for $5 reserves your place and includes continental breakfast. “We offer these as a way to help alumni keep abreast of the exciting things happening on campus and to learn something new. The presentations are: “Rhode Rules: The URI Transportation Center,” Daniel Urish, professor of engineering and director. “Orbit Fragments & Other Wall Constructions,” Richard Calabro, professor of art; Judith Tolnick, curator and Fine Arts Center gallery coordinator. “A Stitch in Time: Rhode Island Quilts,” Textile Gallery, Quinn Hall. “Your Neighborhood Pharmacist: Public Outreach,” Amy Rogowski and Kate Strong, assistant professors of pharmacy. “Online Investment Strategies in the Information Age,” Jacqueline Faught, assistant professor of business. “Sustainable Landscapes for Our Homes,” Brian Maynard, associate professor of plant science. “Demystifying the College Admissions Process,” Kimberly Stack, admissions officer. “You Can’t Take it With You: Estate Planning,” Alan Axelrod, assistant director of planned giving. “Online Mentoring, a No-Cost Way to Give Back to URI,” Audrey Tessier, Career Services recruiting coordinator. “URI’s History in Words, Stories, and Photographs,” authors Richard Vangermeersch ’64, professor of business, and James Wheaton IV ’59. “Alumni tours on the Horizon,” Collette Tours Inc. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., URI will honor 15 alumni who have given generously of their time, talents and financial resources to the University and their communities at the Alumni Awards Luncheon on the lawn of the president’s house. Cost is $20 per person. At 2 p.m., join the campus community for Colleges on the Quad. URI’s academic colleges will have tables set up on the Quad, while live music, and refreshments are provided. Enjoy dessert and drinks from Newport Creamery and Del’s. For further information, contact the Alumni Association at 401-874-2242, or e-mail, sfrancis@advance.uri.edu. You can also go to the Web site at http://advance.uri.edu/events.htm and click on Alumni Weekend 2000. -xxx- For Information: Susan Dooley Francis 401-874-2242, Dave Lavallee 401-874-2116