Welcome + Giving Center
Hours: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Office of Admission, Stewart M. Reid House
All weekend attendees should check in to pick up your meal tickets and packets.

Please note the schedule is subject to change, check back for the latest updates. 

 

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    Women's Ice Hockey Team Practice

    8:30–9:30 a.m.
    Spurrier Snyder Rink, Freeman Athletic Center

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    Men's Basketball Red + Black Intrasquad Scrimmage

    8:45–10:15 a.m.
    Silloway Gymnasium
    Tailgate on Andrus Field to follow

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    50th, 25th, and 5th Milestone Reunion Mini Reunions + Planning Meetings

    Classes 1974, 1999, and 2019
    9–11 a.m.
    Rm 108, Usdan University Center

    More on the meeting

    This May, Classes of 1974, 1999, and 2019 will be celebrating their milestone reunions. Members of these classes are invited to learn more about being an ambassador for the 50th, 25th, and 5th Reunions.Pre-50th Reunion alumni—1975, 1976, 1977, and 1978—are also invited to begin planning for their milestone reunion early.

    Visit your class pages for more information and contacts.

    Please RSVP through the Homecoming + Family Weekend registration form.

    Room 108, Usdan University Center

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    Wrestling Alumni, Parents, and Friends Breakfast + Practice

    9–11 a.m.
    Biddiscombe Wrestling Room, Freeman Athletic Center

    More on wrestling breakfast

    Come enjoy a cup of coffee and continental breakfast, meet the team, and watch the team in a practice. Team introductions will take place at the end of practice before we head over to Corwin Stadium to cheer on our Cardinals v. Amherst in the football game.

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    Men's Lacrosse Scrimmage

    9–11 a.m.
    Citrin Field

    Tailgate on Andrus Field to follow

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    Women's Lacrosse Events

    9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
    Various locations

    More on Women's Lacrosse Events

    9 a.m. Women's Lacrosse Alumnae Breakfast, location TBD
    10 a.m. Women's Lacrosse Red & Black Scrimmage, Smith Field
    12:30 p.m. Women's Lacrosse Family & Friends Tailgate, Andrus Field

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    Baseball Intrasquad Scrimmage

    9 a.m.
    Location TBD

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    Softball Alumnae Game

    10 a.m.
    Softball field

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    Birds of a Feather Flock Together: Unique Collections Open House

    10 a.m.–noon
    Olin Library, Special Collections & Archives

    More on Birds of a Feather

    With a nod to Wesleyan's cardinal mascot, the library's unique collections will show off some rare books, archives, and ethnographic objects showcasing our fine feathered friends. We’ll have songs related to your favorite birds, cultural objects made with feathers and bird bones, Chinese textiles featuring embroidered birds, Audubon prints and artist books, and material related to your favorite university's bird among many others. Come see these cardinal collections, avian archives, and ornithological objects from the Wesleyan Archaeology & Anthropology Collections, Center for East Asian Studies Art & Archival Collections, Special Collections, University Archives, and World Music Archives.

WESeminars Session I

  • The 20th Annual Robert F. Schumann Where on Earth Are We Going Symposium

    Knowing Their Place: Rachel Carson and the Women Who Came Before Her

    9–10:30 a.m.
    Exley Science Center, Tishler Hall, Room 150

    More on Knowing Their Place

    Join Janice Nimura, Pulitzer-nominated author and Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Wesleyan’s Bailey College of the Environment, as she discusses her research on Rachel Carson and the overlooked 19th century women who preceded her as writers generating wonder about the natural world. Pushed to the margins of the scientific establishment, yet intimately familiar with the ecologies they studied, their writing helped to turn public opinion toward ideas of stewardship and connection long before the publication of Silent Spring.

  • Cultivating Leadership & Social Innovation

    9:30–10:30 a.m.
    Allbritton 311

    More on Cultivating Leadership

    Join us for a wide-ranging moderated conversation on how leadership and social innovation are cultivated from the grassroots to national and international scales. We will trace the lived experiences of extraordinary leaders at various points in their professional journeys and explore their strategies and approaches to meaningful impact.

    Moderator:
    Ahmed Badr '20, Director, Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship

    Presenters:
    Hira Jafri '13, Director of Global Programs, Yale MacMillian Center
    Stefano Castro '21, National Geographic Young Explorer & Founder, El Parque Collective
    Valensia Tandeas '26, Global Champion, 2023 Oxford Map the System Competition
    Ferdinand Quayson '20, Founder, Young Achievers Foundation Ghana
    Yongxi Tan '22, Co-Founder, Bessie.

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    Psi Upsilon Fraternity Alumni Chapter Meeting

    9:30–11 a.m.
    Psi Upsilon, 242 High Street

    More on the Psi Upsilon meeting

    Psi Upsilon members are invited for breakfast and the chapter meeting:

    9:30 a.m. Coffee and breakfast
    10 a.m. Chapter meeting

    11 a.m. Memorial Service and Celebration of Brother James Killough
    All are welcome, including Psi U members, alumni, families, invitees, guests, and members of the Wesleyan Community.

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    Men’s Hockey Practice

    9:45 a.m.– 10:45 a.m.
    Spurrier Snyder Rink, Freeman Athletic Center
    Tailgate on Andrus Field to follow

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    Campus Tour

    10–11:30 a.m.
    Office of Admission, Stewart M. Reid House
    Meet in the lobby

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    Tailgating + Parking on Andrus Field

    10 a.m.–4 p.m.
    Andrus Field

    More on tailgating

    Athletic teams and organizations will host tailgates on Andrus Field during the football game. Please continue to check back for details.

    Open Container Policy: University policy and NESCAC regulations state that alcohol is not allowed at any sporting event with the exception of the tailgate area on Andrus Field.  Open containers are not allowed near the football field.

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    Class Deans and Student Academic Resources Office Hours

    10 a.m.–noon
    North College

    More on the office hours

    An opportunity for parents to have brief informal one-on-one meetings with their student’s class dean and/or the dean for academic advancement and accessibility specialist.

    Laura Patey, Dean for Academic Advancement, 218 North College. Dean Patey will also meet with families who have a student in the Class of 2026.

    Jennifer Wood, Dean for the Class of 2027, 215 North College

    Kelly Dunn, Dean for the Class of 2025, 202 North College

    William M. Biesse, Dean for the Class of 2024, 203 North College

    Crystal Rose Hill-Farrell, Director of Student Academic Resources, 022 North College

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    Alumni Family Photo

    10:15 a.m.
    North College steps

    More on the family photo

    Alumni parents and grandparents and their current students are invited for a group photograph with President Michael S. Roth ’78. The photo will be taken at 10:30 a.m. sharp.

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    Morning Story Time at Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore

    10:30 a.m.
    Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore, 413 Main Street More on story time

    Settle in for a fun and interactive story time at the bookstore! Story time will include a mix of new picture books and classic tales! No registration required.

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    Women's Basketball Alumnae Game + Events

    10:30 a.m. Alumnae Game
    Silloway Gymnasium

    Football Halftime: Women's Basketball Family + Friends Tailgate
    Andrus Field

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    Squash Team Open House + Match

    10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
    Rosenbaum Squash Courts, Freeman Athletic Center

    More on squash team open house

    The Wesleyan squash teams will host an open house at the squash courts along with an opportunity to play against the 2023–24 men's and women's teams. Bring your families and friends to try squash or just come and watch the action. All are welcome to play. Match play against the team members will begin at 10:30 a.m.

    This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with the current student-athletes, introduce friends and family to the sport of squash, and/or to reminisce about past experiences at Wesleyan. Please contact Shona Kerr if you would like to play.

WESeminars Session II: 10:30 a.m.–noon

  • The 20th Annual Robert F. Schumann Where on Earth Are We Going Symposium

    What Will the World Look Like? Reimagining the Future in the Anthropocene

    Exley Science Center, Tishler Hall, Room 150

    More on What Will the World Look Like?

    Join a lively discussion led by Bailey College of the Environment student Think Tank fellows Debbra Goh ’24 and Ella Doherty ’24. In this 90-minute session, students will discuss how their generation sees the future at a time when the possibility of environmental apocalypse looms large. How do youths manage the anxiety brought forth by the Anthropocene while still holding out hope for crafting a future wheter an enlightened understanding of intergenerational environmental justice will reign?

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    Wesleyan Entrepreneurship Lunch Reception

    10:45 a.m.–1 p.m.
    Allbritton 103

    More on the Entrepreneurship Lunch

    Co-Hosted by the Wesleyan Entrepreneurship Society and the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, this reception aims to bring together students, parents, and alumni interested in leadership, innovation, and social impact. Lunch will be provided.

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    31st Annual Dwight L. Greene Symposium: Striving for Access and Opportunity in Education

    11 a.m.–noon
    Memorial Chapel and on Zoom

    More on the Symposium

    Participants include:

    • Amin Abdul-Malik Gonzalez '96, Vice President and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid
    • Clifford Thornton, former Associate Dean of Admission, Wesleyan University
    • Shereem Herndon-Brown '96, Author, The Black Family's College Guide to Admission
    • Tanya Greene '91, Director U.S. Programs, Human Rights Watch
    • Theodore Shaw '76, Hon.'14, Julius L. Chambers Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Civil Rights, University of North Carolina

    The Supreme Court's recent decision to end affirmative action has real-world implications for Black and other under-represented students seeking to pursue their higher education goals at Wesleyan and at colleges/universities around the country. Some are projecting that the Supreme Court's decision is likely to devastate the number of Black students admitted to colleges and universities in the coming years.

    In this year's Dwight L. Greene Symposium, experts in this space will not only reflect on the SCOTUS decision and impact on families but also share their views on ways that Wesleyan might work to build and also protect a more racially diverse, equitable and inclusive student body in the future.

    Now entering its 31st year, the Dwight L. Greene Symposium honors Dwight L. Greene '70 as a memorial and tribute to his life and work as a professor of law, mentor and friend. Each year, presenters are selected from among Wesleyan's alumni, faculty, and friends who have distinguished themselves in their professions, to share on topics of importance for Black alumni, alumni of color, and the Wesleyan community at large.

    This symposium provides an opportunity to hear from a diverse set of voices while facilitating networking and reconnecting with members of the Wesleyan community. with each other and ensures that diversity remains an important part of the Wesleyan experience.

    Historically sponsored by the Black Alumni Council and Alumni of Color Council, the symposium serves as a long-standing campus tradition and a time to reflect on where we were, where we are, and most importantly…where we are headed.

    Overflow seating will be available in Judd Hall, room 116. The symposium can also be watched live on Zoom.

    Watch on Zoom

    Webinar ID: 954 2042 4672
    Passcode: 355379
    Find your local number

     

    Watch last year's Dwight L. Greene Symposium which took place virtually on November 15.

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    Homecoming Day Lunch

    11 a.m.–2 p.m.
    Marketplace, Usdan University Center

    More on Homecoming Day Lunch

    Parents, families, friends, and guests are invited to join students for lunch at Usdan University Center. Sample a variety of fresh, local, and made-to-order options from Bon Appetit, Wesleyan’s on-campus dining service. Enjoy salad bars, carving stations, hot entrees, numerous side dishes, beverages, and desserts. Vegetarian, vegan, and Kosher-style options are available and you do not need to specify your meal preference in advance.

    Tickets: $20/adults. (Wesleyan students use their meal plans; no ticket purchase). Purchase tickets when you register before October 17. A limited number of meals may be available on-site at the Marketplace cashier (2nd floor).

    Note: A select menu of a la carte food and beverages will also be available for purchase on-site at the Usdan Café, some athletic teams may be selling concessions on Andrus Field, or you can visit one of the many restaurants in downtown Middletown. 

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    Personal Reflection Space Open

    11 a.m.–2 p.m.
    Zilkha Uncommons
    South Gallery, 283 Washington Terrace

    More on Personal Reflection

    The Zilkha Uncommons, located in South Gallery at 283 Washington Terrace, offers visitors to Homecoming + Family Weekend a quiet space for personal reflection. Designed and conceived by Rosemary Lennox (Exhibitions Manager), Zilkha Uncommons is a new space and initiative at the Center for the Arts that welcomes all visitors and offers them a room to read, reflect, rest, and engage in informal and collaborative learning.

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    College of East Asian Studies Open House Events

    11 a.m.–3 p.m.
    Mansfield Freeman Center, 343 Washington Terrace

    More on East Asian Studies Open House

    11 a.m.      Taiko Drumming Performance
    12:30 p.m. Gallery Talk with Sabrina Tian

    Gallery open from noon to 3 p.m.: "Understanding China in the Age of the Unequal Treaties"

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    Men's Rugby

    11 a.m. Alumni Game and Cookout
    1 p.m. Wesleyan vs Trinity
    Long Lane Rugby Field

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    President's Reception Honoring Leadership Donors

    11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
    The Forum, Public Affairs Center, by invitation only

    More on the Leadership Donor Reception

    Please join President Michael S. Roth '78 at a reception celebrating members of the Wesleyan Leadership Societies. Wesleyan Leadership Societies recognize the extraordinary commitment and support of Wesleyan leadership donors. By invitation only.

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    Gallery Exhibit: No Title: Relays + Relations

    Works by Renée Green and Sol LeWitt
    Noon–5 p.m.
    Ezra and Cecila Zilkha Gallery

    More on No Title: Relays + Relations

    This exhibition brings together artworks by Renée Green ’81 and Sol LeWitt (1928–2007). As a student at Wesleyan, Green participated in a course taught by Professor of Art History Emeritus John Paoletti that focused on LeWitt’s art collection, which resulted in the exhibition NoTitle: The Collection of Sol LeWitt in the Davison Art Center (October 21 through December 20, 1981). Describing this experience as a seminal moment in her experience as an emerging artist, Green is also interested in what similar acts of aesthetic exchange and support could be offered to younger artists today, thereby extending the transmission of conceptualism in new directions. For the exhibition, Green will place some of her recent work. The exhibition will also feature three wall drawings by LeWitt with installation by current students at Wesleyan. An array of public programs and engagement opportunities will accompany the exhibition.

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    Women's Lacrosse Family and Friends Tailgate

    12:30 p.m.
    Andrus Field

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    Women's Soccer v. Trinity: NESCAC Quarterfinals

    12:30 p.m.
    Jackson Field

WESeminars Session III: 1–2 p.m.

  • Screening and Conversation with Renée Green '81

    Ring Family Performing Arts Hall

    More on the screening and talk

    A screening of "ED/HF" (2017), a 33 minute video by Renée Green '81, will be followed by a conversation between Green and Associate Director of Visual Arts Benjamin Chaffee ’00, curator of the exhibition "No Title: Relays and Relations. Works by Renée Green and Sol LeWitt. Works by Renée Green and Sol LeWitt," which brings together artworks by Green and wall drawings by Sol LeWitt (1928-2007). The talk will be followed by a light reception in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery.

  • Practical Criticism

    Shapiro Writing Center, Room 102

    More on Practical Criticism

    In the 1920s, the literary critic I.A. Richards conducted an experiment on his students at Cambridge University. Each week, Richards would give his students a handout with a poem – no title, no author, no date – and ask them to produce a commentary on it. Their commentaries formed the basis of his book, Practical Criticism, which, in turn, influences the practice that literary critics describe as “close reading” and its protocols of interpretation and evaluation. This session restages Richards’s experiment a century later, with two poems, for a different cohort of readers. It is an invitation to excavate different ideas about and approaches to how we evaluate artworks.

    Presenter: Merve Emre, Shapiro-Silverberg University Professor of Creative Writing and Criticism and Director, Shapiro Writing Center

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    Football vs. Amherst

    1–4 p.m.
    Corwin Stadium, Andrus Field
    Watch the game live on NSN Sports

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    Family Swim

    1–5 p.m.
    Webster Family Natatorium, Freeman Athletic Center

    More on the family swim

    Bring your suit and goggles and enjoy open swim hours. 

    Webster Family Natatorium, Freeman Athletic Center

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    Alumni Volunteer Tailgate

    1–3 p.m.
    Andrus Field

    More on Alumni Volunteer Tailgate

    Celebrate game day with friends and other volunteers. Alumni volunteers should be sure to stop by during the game and pick up your Wesleyan swag. Refreshments will be available.

    Go Wes, beat Amherst!

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    Campus Tour

    2–3:30 p.m.
    Stewart M. Reid House, Office of Admission
    Meet in the lobby

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    Freeman Asian Scholars Reception

    2–3:30 p.m.
    Russell House, 350 High Street

    More on the reception

    Join Freeman Asian Scholar alumni and students along with faculty and administrators at a reception honoring the Freeman Asian Scholars Program.

    Please indicate on the registration form if you plan to attend this event.

    Russell House, 327 High Street

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    Open House at the Joe Webb Peoples Museum of Natural History

    2–4 p.m.
    Exley Science Center, 4th floor

    More on the Joe Webb Peoples Museum

    The Joe Webb Peoples Museum of Natural History invites you to share our amazing collections of fossils and minerals, including many specimens from Connecticut. Our student curators have developed exhibits, restored specimens, made posters and brochures, and digitized our collections (including photography). They will inform you about our museum, its natural history collections and the work they do.

WESeminars Session IV: 3–4 p.m.

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    Gamelan Workshop

    World Music Hall

    More on Gamelan Workshop

    Dominated by colorful, bronze percussion instruments, the Gamelan ensemble features gongs, bronze and wooden xylophones, two-headed drums, a female soloist and a male chorus. Some of the instruments date back to the 12th century in Java, an Indonesian island located between Sumatra and Bali. Get some real experience playing the Gamelan in this lively, hands-on workshop.

    Presenters: Professor Sumarsam and his teaching assistants

    Please note: Space is limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. This session often reaches capacity.

  • A Reading and Discussion with the Characters of Charles Barber’s In The Blood

    Allbritton Hall, Room 311

    More on In the Blood

    Join Wesleyan University Writer in Residence Charles Barber to discuss his latest book, In the Blood. Charles will be joined by QuikClot pioneers, Bart Gullong and Frank Hursey.

    The "high-stakes" true story of how an absent-minded inventor and a down-on-his-luck salesman joined forces to create a once-in-a-generation lifesaving product only to be fought by the Army every step of the way in the quest to get it to the battlefield. "Important, vivid, engrossing." —The New York Times; "Captivating and often cinematic." —The Wall Street Journal.

    Charles Barber is a Writer in Residence at Wesleyan University, a Lecturer in Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine, and the author of five books. His work has appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post, among dozens of publications.

THE LAUNCH OF SOMETHING BIG

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    Join us at McKelvey Green Tent

    4–6 p.m.
    Follow the drums and experience West African drumming and dancing, a concert featuring Black Raspberry, and more as we join together to celebrate the Launch of Something Big!

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    Xi Chapter of Psi Upsilon Events

    4 p.m.
    Psi Upsilon, 242 High Street
    Return to the Chapter House to socialize after the footbal game and other events.

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    Alpha Delta Phi Reception and Dinner

    5:30 p.m.
    Alpha Delta Phi, 185 High Street

    More on the reception and dinner

    Alpha Delta Phi members and families are invited to a cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by a dinner banquet. 

    Alpha Delta Phi, 185 High Street

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    Black Alumni Celebration X House Flashback Dance Party

    Featuring alumni DJs Ian Friday '87 and Marc McKayle '88
    7:30–10:30 p.m.
    Beckham Hall, Fayerweather
    Hosted by the Black Alumni Council. Ujamaa/Black Student Union, and the Alumni of Color Council

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    "Blair Witch Project" Wesleyan Film Series Screening

    8 p.m.
    Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies
    Free 

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    Stargazing

    9–11 p.m.
    Van Vleck Observatory

    More on stargazing

    Organized and hosted by the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford (ASGH), this observing session uses our refurbished 20" refracting telescope. For details, schedule, and the COVID-19 policy please visit the ASGH website.