Celebrating Dickinson
Alumni and families flock to campus for Homecoming & Family Weekend
Hundreds of Dickinson alumni and families came to campus over the last few days for Homecoming & Family Weekend. In addition to the inauguration of Margee Ensign as the college's 29th president, the weekend featured numerous events to help alums reconnect and enable parents to get an inside look at the Dickinson experience.
The weekend got off to an early start Thursday night with the Civic Engagement Celebration, which highlighted how Dickinson’s community partnerships foster learning and service for the common good. Friday morning, attendees got the chance to experience that kind of service learning in action through the Day of Caring, which brought together more than 450 volunteers from Dickinson and the United Way to complete 48 service projects across the local community.
“I have a deep commitment to civic engagement, and it meant a great deal to have [the United Way’s Day of Caring] coincide with what we’re doing here at Dickinson,” said Ensign, whose inauguration celebration added civic engagement events like the Day of Caring, Thursday’s celebration and an Arts for the Common Good Symposium showcasing student and faculty performances aimed at using the arts to positively impact the wider world.
Friday was also highlighted by an immersive, outdoor performance of the Grapes of Wrath on the College Farm by the Mermaid Players as well as student performances throughout downtown Carlisle as part of First Friday.
The weekend offered plenty of opportunities to catch the Red Devils in action. Attendees showed their Dickinson spirit as they cheered the football team on to 13-10 victory over McDaniel College following an all-campus barbecue and a tailgate for John Dickinson Society members. The men’s and women’s soccer teams celebrated victories over Washington College, while the field hockey and volleyball teams lost tough contests, and women’s lacrosse hosted a spirited alumnae game.
The Dickinson Athletics Hall of Fame inducted four Red Devils and one team into its 2017 class of honorees, recognizing them during halftime of the football game and an induction ceremony Saturday evening. The new inductees were:
- Andrew Ackley ’07, football and track and field
- Ryan Stearrett ’07, football
- Heather Ganley-Smith ’97 women’s soccer
- Allyson Teatom Fullmer ’07, women’s basketball
- and the 2004-05 women’s basketball team.
Alumni affinity groups gathered for special receptions and dinners throughout the weekend. The class of 1965 celebrated its 52-and-a-half-year reunion, while Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Nu, Kappa Sigma and Phi Delta Theta held a 35-year reunion, an alumni and family reception, an awards ceremony and a trustee meeting, respectively. Alums and family members also gathered for coffee and snacks with Dickinson Christian Fellowship, a bagel brunch in the Asbell Center for Jewish Life and the Alumni of Color Reception.
Attendees also had plenty of opportunities to re-engage with, or learn more about, the college’s academic programming through Saturday afternoon’s Campus Expo. Featuring everything from international business & management faculty demonstrating marginal analysis with balloons to Italian faculty giving language lessons over espressos, the expo highlighted how faculty and staff prepare students to be change agents in the local, national and global communities.
As in previous years, the weekend was capped off by Sunday morning’s Run for Steph. The annual 5K held in memory of Stephanie Kreiner ’03, who was killed by a drunk driver in October 2004, drew dozens of students, faculty, staff, alumni and families who all hit the road to honor Kreiner’s memory and raise funds for Dickinson’s McAndrews Fund for Athletics.
View more photos from Homecoming & Family Weekend and Ensign's inaugration celebration on Facebook.
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Published October 8, 2017