Eastern Kentucky University alumni and friends are invited to visit the campus April 26-27 when the University hosts its annual Alumni Weekend.
This year’s event features special reunions for the classes of 1943, 1948, 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978 and 1983, with the Class of 1963 inducted as Pioneers. Alumni of all years are welcome.
A highlight of the weekend is the annual Alumni Awards and Recognition Banquet, where six Eastern graduates are to be inducted into the University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni. The event will be held Saturday, April 27, at 6 p.m. in the Keen Johnson Ballroom. Tickets for the banquet are $35 each.
A full listing of Alumni Weekend events is available at alumni.eku.edu/insidelook/alumni-weekend.
The six Hall of Distinguished Alumni inductees are: Rev. Robert Blythe, Richmond, pastor of First Baptist Church and city commissioner; Jeanie Gail Ashe Bowman, Hattiesburg, Miss., president of J Bowman Associates; Judy Layne-Wood, Yorktown, Va., retired teacher and registrar, now community volunteer; Jean Chenault Logue, Richmond, Chief Circuit Judge, 25th Judicial Circuit; Col. (Ret.) Ralph Newman, Grayson, retired Army officer; and Dr. Janna Vice, Richmond, provost and vice president for academic affairs, EKU.
Also, Dr. Ezra Engling, professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages and Humanities, and Karen Millsap, American Sign Language specialist in the Department of American Sign Language and Interpreter Education, will each receive the Alumni Association’s Award for Teaching Excellence.
A Distinguished Service Award will be presented to David McFaddin, Richmond, a 1999 EKU graduate now serving as executive director of government relations for the University.
“Spring is a wonderful time to visit The Campus Beautiful and see it blooming with color,” said Jackie Collier, director of alumni relations. “Alumni Weekend offers our alumni and friends a special time to reconnect with each other and with Eastern.”
The Richards Alumni House will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday. Early Bird Registration will be offered at the Alumni House between 10:30 a.m. and noon.
At 5:30 p.m. on Friday, President and Joanne Whitlock will host a reception for members of the Pioneer Class of 1963 and their guests at the Blanton House. A dinner ($20 per person) will be held at 6:30 in the Stratton Building Cafeteria.
Events continue Saturday, April 27, with registration beginning at 9 a.m. in the Keen Johnson Building.
Saturday morning also includes a continental breakfast, class reunion photographs, and class luncheons and meetings at 11:30 a.m. ($19 per person).
The day also features campus tours, recognition of EKU Pioneers (those who graduated from the University at least 50 years ago), and the dedication of the William H. Berge Virtual Oral History Center in honor of the late EKU history professor. Any graduate from 1963 or earlier who would like to be recognized this year as an EKU Pioneer should contact the Alumni Relations office, 859-622-1260.
The weekend also includes a reunion of Phi Mu alumni.
For more information about Alumni Weekend, or to make reservations for any of the events, contact the Alumni Relations Office at 859-622-1260 or, toll-free, 866-624-4050, or e-mail alumni.relations@eku.edu.
