Sewanee Homecoming This Weekend
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Several hundred college alumni and friends are expected to return to the University of the South campus this weekend for Homecoming. In addition to the receptions and gatherings with old friends, this year will offer several special events and opportunities. The full schedule is online . This is the university’s first Homecoming that does not also include class reunions, which have been moved to the spring,
Several talks will be offered Friday, including an update on the Sewanee Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation, an update on the business program, and The Refounding of the University, based on the new book by Dr. Jerry Smith, Vice-Chancellor Emeritus Sam Williamson, and Vice-Chancellor John McCardell. Chris McDonough, professor of classics, will give the Alderson-Tillinghast Lecture on “Pontius Pilate’s British Accent.”
In addition to the annual Friday afternoon hike on the Caldwell Rim Trail led by favorite professors, a tour of University and Sewanee cemeteries, “Shoulders We Stand On,” will be led by James Gipson, C’66.
Special celebrations are part of Homecoming this year:
Sewanee is celebrating 50 years of Watson Fellows, and a panel of former Watson Fellows will share their stories Friday afternoon.
The Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony, a new EQB Award celebration recognizing outstanding alumni, a Kappa Sigma reunion, a reunion of the undefeated 1958 and 1963 football teams, and a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Tennessee Williams Center will all take place during Homecoming weekend.
Concerts, exhibition, and athletic events will round out the weekend.
Sunday, Oct. 28, the University will dedicate a plaque honoring Robert M. Ayres Jr. during the 11 a.m. service in All Saints’ Chapel. And Sunday evening, a showing of “Mine 21,” a new documentary produced by Chris McDonough about a 1981 mine disaster in Whitwell, Tenn., will be held in the Sewanee Union Theatre.