UR prepares to welcome alumni back to campus
Alumni
“Reunion is always a festive and celebratory time on campus,” said Megan Dooley Phillips, a 2013 alum and associate director of campus and signature events for Alumni Engagement. “We love to see friends reuniting in this place that still means so much to them.”
All alumni can attend events scheduled to take place during the 2025 Reunion Weekend, May 30-June 1. Special parties will be organized for undergraduate reunion classes ending in 0 and 5.
Alum Rick Naschold is one of the co-chairs for the Class of 1975’s special reunion. “Fifty years go by quickly. A lot has happened at UR and around the world since we were in school. The physical development of the campus since we were there has been amazing to witness, as has the growth in the University’s academic excellence.”
Naschold remembers that Richmond's student body composition was much more regional in 1975. The summer prior, Nixon had resigned, and the country was experiencing an energy crisis and rising inflation.
“Our class was likely the most transformative in that women increasingly chose to pursue professional opportunities more than ever before. We had several women who helped pave the way through their own successful careers,” Naschold said. His co-chair Karen Wimbish was an executive vice-president with Wells Fargo before her retirement. Diana Blackburn Mahoney, who serves on the reunion committee, was hired right out of UR as one of the first women on Procter & Gamble’s sales force.
Richmond women from the Class of 1975 were trailblazers. Many were some of the first women to be hired in professional positions in sales, medicine, social work, and technology.
The Class of 2015 will experience its first milestone return since their five-year reunion event was canceled due to the pandemic.
“Based on my conversations so far, there is clear excitement to get back on campus,” said Class of 2015 alum and reunion committee co-chair Alex Holva. “People are eager for an opportunity to turn back the clock for a weekend and make up for what we missed in 2020.”
Returning alumni will discover some new activities if they haven’t attended a reunion in the last ten years, said Phillips. “The welcome party with the deans would be new for this group and offer a wonderful opportunity to meet and greet them, as well as other alumni who are arriving on campus for the weekend,” she said.
For some it will be their first opportunity to hear from President Kevin F. Hallock at the President’s Breakfast & Alumni Awards Presentation and the F.W. Boatwright Society Dinner & Induction Ceremony.
To truly engage in a back-to-school experience, students can stay with former roommates or classmates in a residence hall, participate in an admission information session, and tour the campus.
"Even if you haven’t stayed in touch, even if life has been busy, there’s something really special about returning to where it all started. You’ll be surprised by how quickly it feels like home again even with all of the change around campus,” said Class of 2015 alum Ryan Elizabeth Foulds, who remained in Richmond after graduation.
When asked what he remembers about UR, Holva said, “Definitely the men’s basketball rivalry matchup with VCU where the Robins Center has never been louder. We had a couple of big overtime wins against VCU, which may have taken a few years off my life from the suspense.”
And he has a message for all his classmates: “Don't let another reunion slip away! Let's make some memories and relive old ones!”
For more information or to register, please visit the Reunion Weekend website.