Many events have recently been added to the Homecoming 2008 schedule, including, on September 20, a raffle for pre-registered attendees immediately after the 1:00 p.m. football game, with such prizes a digital camera, an ipod, and a $50 gas card.

Other additions are: the Class of ’68 gathering for a photo at “The Rock,” (pictured during the 20th reunion in 1988), the women’s lacrosse reunion, the School of Arts and Sciences reunion, a photo retrospective at D’Amour Library on the history of the College’s libraries, and a tour of the School of Engineering’s new Collaborative Product Realization Laboratory facilities. Check out the updated Homecoming schedule and pre-register. (Read More)

Do you want to stay connected to the College and at the same time play an important role in improving it by recruiting the best and brightest students? The Alumni-in-Admissions program, which is stepping up its student recruitment efforts across the country, is looking for more volunteers to share their college experience with prospective Western New England College students.

The Office of Admissions has teamed up with Alumni Relations and the Office of Information Technology to make it easier for volunteers to register for the Alumni-in-Admissions program by using a new online form. To visit the Alumni-in-Admissions page, which has more information about the program, as well as a list of more than 55 volunteers, click here. (Read More)

As the eyes of the world are glued on Beijing for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, a group of 13 students have been getting behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to put on an event featuring more than 10,000 athletes competing in 302 separate events. The students’ trip to Beijing August 8-16 is part of a unique class offered through the College's School of Business.

The trip was the brainchild of Curt Hamakawa, an assistant professor of sport management and director of the College’s Center for International Sport Business. “When Western New England College hired me after my 16 years with the United States Olympic Committee, it was quite natural that I would seek to leverage my knowledge of the Olympic Movement and international contacts for the benefit of our students,” says Hamakawa, a former director of international relations with the USOC. Click here to read Hamakawa’s blog about the experience. (Read More)

Alumni from these select classes will soon receive their Alumni Survey in the mail. Its purpose is to assess your college experience, keep the Alumni Association up to date on your life since graduation, and help us develop future programs for the College and alumni. Completing the survey should take about 10 minutes. The Office of Alumni Relations is here to serve you: please take a few moments to let us know about your needs and interests.

Your updated response will ensure that you will receive our informative mailings and emails in a timely manner, and help you to network with other alumni or locate your classmates more easily on our online directory. Also, the collective data will help us to provide statistical information for the College’s accreditation and external reporting, which influences our national reputation. (Read More)

[View our historic photo archives.] Emerson Hall, the first building on the Wilbraham Road campus, was built in 1959. President Beaumont Herman commented on the unusual privilege, granted to few college presidents, “of dedicating not only a new building, but an entirely new campus.” It was known as the East Building until it was renamed Emerson Hall for Robert R. Emerson ’23, who resigned as chairman of the Board of Trustees on October 19, 1970. Pictured at the naming ceremony the following month are (L-R) Trustees Irving C. Jacobs ’26, Emerson, Herman, and Richard S. Carroll. (Read More)

[To see our historic photo archives click here.] The College has been visited by a variety of animals over the years: there were the legendary donkey basketball games of the 1980s, and, of course, a black bear performed in a traveling circus on campus in the mid-1970s. But what is an elephant doing here in 1968? The pachederm was used an “anchor” in the annual rope pull between freshmen and sophomores, attracting the attention of a TV news cameraman (left) and the affection of sophomore Alfred Trani ’71 (right). In the rope pull, which was the highlight of Fall Orientation, a plastic tarp-lined “pond” separated the combatants, and the muddy pit of water awaited the losers. If the freshmen won, they could remove the freshman beanies that they had been required to wear during the first week of school. The winners were awarded a top hat and a cane. (Read More)