Published: Oct 18, 2007
Hundreds
of University of Tampa alumni will take a trip into the past this
weekend while experiencing the many changes that are a part of the
school’s future as they come together for Homecoming and Reunions 2007.
“Some
of them might not have been back here for 20 or 30 years,” said Jay
Hardwick, UT’s director of alumni and parent relations. “So it’s
exciting for them to see all the changes that have taken place.”
The
weekend’s events begin Friday at 11:30 a.m. with the Golden Spartan
Reunion Luncheon in Plant Hall’s Fletcher Lounge, which is exclusively
for the classes of 1934 through 1957.
All UT alumni are later
invited to the President’s Reception at 5 p.m. the same day on Plant
Hall’s East Verandah, where President Ronald L. Vaughn will host hors
d’oeuvres and cocktails.
A “Decade of the '50s” open house is
scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Vaughn Center’s Crescent Club,
for class members who graduated in the 1950s. A reunion luncheon for the
classes of 1987, 1997 and 2002 will also be held at noon in Plant
Hall’s Music Room.
“It’s a great opportunity for people who
haven’t been here in years to see what the campus looks like,” Hardwick
said, adding that a group of recent alumni visitors were awed at how
much the school had grown in the years since they graduated.
“They
were amazed at what the school looks like now,” Hardwick said. “A lot
of them hadn’t been here since the '60s and UT was just two or three
buildings back then. They all wanted to see the pool because they
couldn’t believe there was a pool on campus.”
Alumni are also invited to take part either as spectators or participants in Saturday’s
Spartan 5K Run. A walking campus tour is also scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, starting in the lobby of Plant Hall.
The
former Spartans will also be treated to a buffet dinner, cocktails and
gaming at 7 p.m. Saturday during the Monte Carlo Auction and Casino
Night. The black-tie optional event takes place in the Vaughn Center’s
Crescent Club, with all gambling proceeds going toward the UT National
Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship.
For more information and a complete list of events for Homecoming & Reunions 2007, visit
alumni.ut.edu.