Commencement 2007 - Villanova University

AlumniWeekendA Time to Remember thatSoaring spring temperatures weren’t the only thinggenerating warmth as Alumni Reunion Weekend2007 kicked off June 8 on campus. A record-breakinggroup of 1,500 eager alumni and their guests baskedin the glow of shared affection as they braved 95-degree weather to register for the three-day celebrationpacked with opportunities to rekindle oldfriendships and revive memories of a cherished stageof life. Having traveled from as far away as Singaporeand London, representing 36 states and the Districtof Columbia, eight decades of graduates made West Campus’Klekotka Hall their first stop, where they were greeted withrefreshments on the patio at the Wildcat Welcome Area.From the first, the returning alumni enthusiastically embracedthe “Life is good at Villanova University” spirit emblazoned on aspecial commemorative Reunion T-shirt designed and manufacturedby Albert A. “Bert” Jacobs ’87 A&S, co-founder and presidentof the New England-based Life is good ® clothing company.Villanovans snapped up the entire supply of 800 shirts, the proceedsfrom which will benefit the Villanova University AlumniAssociation’s (VUAA) support of Campus Ministry’s StudentService Break Program and the Life is good ® Kids Foundation.“Alumni Reunion Weekend 2007 was a wonderful successdrawing record numbers. Our alumni were happy, excited andthrilled to be back on campus,” said Christine Acchione ’88A&S, director for campus partnerships and programs inAlumni Affairs.Gary R. Olsen ’74 A&S, ’80 G.S., associate vice president forAlumni Affairs and executive director of the VUAA, wasequally sanguine.“There is no better way for a Villanova graduate to reconnectwith old friends and rekindle a relationship with the Universitythan to return for Alumni Reunion Weekend. Seeing the manysmiling faces of alumni as they return to campus is truly gratifyingto all of us at the University and reminds us of how specialVillanova is,” Olsen commented.So eagerly anticipated was the weekend that the 175 WestCampus apartments reserved for participants sold out weeks inadvance. The Villanova Conference Center rooms also werefully booked. All weekend, activities were well-attended, andtwo of them—Reunion Family Picnic and the Class of 1957Half-Century Dinner—broke attendance records. The Rev.Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A., ’75 A&S, University president,together with Olsen and the VUAA’s president, John Smock ’65VSB, visited all 35 Reunion events.“As the Villanova University Alumni Association president,I was pleased and honored to officially welcome back so manyof our alumni,” said Smock, who lives in Lake Forest, Ill. “Byreturning to the Reunion and participating in its activities, theydemonstrated their strong lifelong connection to Villanova andtheir support of the University’s vision and its future.”30 Villanova Magazine