DePauw Prepares for Alumni Reunion Weekend 2002

May 28, 2002

May 28, 2002, Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw's director of alumni relations calls it [DOWNLOAD VIDEO: "Biggest Weekend" 312KB] [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "Biggest Weekend" 143KB] "the biggest weekend on campus" and it's about to begin. Alumni Reunion Weekend 2002 events begin Wednesday evening, May 29, and continue through Sunday, June 2. A wide range of activities will take place, from class dinners, to trolley tours of campus, a book signing by 1957 DePauw graduate Vernon Jordan (celebrating his 45th class reunion) and two events that will show support for a former DePauw professor whose legal fight with the Egyptian government has received international attention.

"We expect to have nearly 2,000 alumni here by Saturday night," Chris Wurster '69 adds.

While alums come back to Greencastle to visit with classmates, [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "New Things" 344KB] "even alumni who have been [back] to campus within the last year will find so many new things to see," Wurster says. Construction continues on an expansion and renovation of the Julian Science and Mathematics Center and on a new building dedicated to the teaching of art (read more here). Roy O. West Library (seen at right) has a new facade, which matches the architecture of nearby Harrison and Asbury Halls.

Alumni will have two opportunities to gather and show support for Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who taught at DePauw from 1967 to 1974, and who was accused of defaming the Egyptian government and was arrested and imprisoned. His conviction was overturned and Dr. Ibrahim is currently awaiting a retrial (to read a May 25th Associated Press story, click here). Between 70 and 100 alumni are expected to attend what's being called a "Fluttering Duck Reunion." The Duck, once a local coffee house and student hangout (the bar in the Walden Inn, which stands where the Duck was located, is also named the Fluttering Duck), was where Professor Ibrahim would occasionally hold classes. It also was a spot where musicians performed, poetry was read, and the issues of the day were dissected and discussed.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "Duck Reunion" 331KB] "These alums played at the Duck, they had classes [there], read poetry, debated the war in Vietnam, and many of them have not been to campus for a long, long time, if ever," Wurster notes.

A concert at Windy Hill Country Club Saturday night will highlight the "Duck reunion." Money will be raised for Dr. Ibrahim. In addition, for the second consecutive year, a "teach-in" on behalf of Ibrahim will take place Saturday morning in East College (to read about last year's event, click here and here). Chichi Armstrong, a 1970 graduate and one of the organizers of the Fluttering Duck events, says the weekend will also honor the memory of the late Maybelle Hamm, who operated The Duck from 1959 until it burned in 1979, and then opened her home to foreign exchange students until her death in 1990.

The weekend opens with an all-class icebreaker reception and steak fry Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Bowman Park. At 9:15 Saturday morning, Vernon Jordan will sign copies of his critically-acclaimed memoir Vernon Can Read! in the DePauw Bookstore Saturday (read more by clicking here). Saturday also marks the 8th annual luncheon of the Indiana Asbury Society, a component of the DePauw Alumni Association, which promotes activities for alumni of 50 or more years ago. Throughout the weekend, a trolley bus will provide narrated tours of the campus. For a complete schedule of events, click here.

Alumni citations will be awarded to Dr. Carleton Dangremond '52, Carol Nelson Johnson '52, Peg Steffen Sant'Ambrogio '57, Helen Poorman '82 and Stephanie Paine Crossin '87. Also, an honorary doctor of music degree will be given to pianist, composer and bandleader George Shearing.

Tickets are required to attend class dinners. For information or to make reservations, call Bartlett Alumni House toll-free at (877) 658-2586 or send an e-mail here.

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