Homecoming 2016
It was a near-perfect fall weekend as close to 650 alumni and guests returned from 41 states and as far as Switzerland to celebrate Homecoming 2016. Fifty-seven organized events offered something for everyone including renovated building tours, affinity reunions for alumni of color and LGBTQIA alumni, decade reunion parties, a tailgate lunch, and a popular new student-alumni social with dueling pianos on the Orange Carpet.
Allan Ruter ’76, a recipient of the Leadership and Service Award, seemed to sum up the Cornell experience for many as he received his award during the Homecoming Convocation. On his visit to campus as a prospective student, his Iowa farmer father declared that it was a good thing the Hilltop had a college, as it was unfarmable. Upon reflection, Ruter told the King Chapel audience, “I must beg to differ with my dear old dad: The Hilltop is, after all, quite like a farm, whose harvest feeds the world in its own remarkable way. To me, this patch of purple on the prairie is one of the most fertile places on God’s green earth.”
Alumni honors
Cornell College proudly honored these distinguished alumni at Homecoming 2016.
Distinguished Achievement Award
Robert D. Martin ’66 is a judge and legal scholar who has taught bankruptcy law, educated judges in training, and is co-author of the three-volume “Ginsberg and Martin on Bankruptcy.”
Leadership and Service Awards
Jack Sunderlage ’61 is a technology pioneer and entrepreneur with a long record of service to higher education.
James Haley ’71 is an attorney, educator, military officer, and community leader who has served as Class Agent for 42 years.
Allan J. Ruter ’76 is an educator who served on the National Council of Teachers of English Commission on Literature. He is a past president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Ben Miller ’86 is an award-winning essayist and fiction writer who served at Harvard as a Radcliffe Institute Fellow.
Athletic Hall of Famers
Cornell’s Athletics Department honored the following 2016 Hall of Fame inductees at Homecoming:
Jack Woodman ’66 (football) was a three-time, all-Midwest Conference performer. A two-way starter, he was the recipient of the team’s Joseph Meade Most Valuable Player award in 1965.
Christopher Heller ’92 (basketball) was a sharp-shooting guard on the men’s basketball team. He is one of only three Rams ever to earn first team all-conference honors three years in a row, and still holds four school records.
Lynn Schneider ’05 (track & field) is one of the most accomplished throwers in Cornell history, winning two all-America awards. She still holds program records in the shot put and javelin throw.
Class of 1966 50th reunion
Row 2: Peggy Fiero Rietz, Susan Schwab Donovan, Carol Busch Telling, Lee Hilliker, Rita Fandrich, Janet Reynolds Blake, Kris Zum Bahlen Richardson, Kathy Mills, Millie Eubanks Carstensen, Carol Winegarden Percelle, Carol Zarko Manning, Will Kirkland, Gail Katagiri, Ruth Keefe Miller, Newell Krogmann, Susan Derr, Marj Dutton Stephenson
Row 3: Bruce Lauerman, George Huntington Jr., Jerry Rizzo, Ingrid Wendt, Ellen Rowlson-Hall, Ruth Haberman Martin, Carol Hardesty Dillard, Joanie Landquist Kirkpatrick, Peggy Woodruff Samuelson, Carolyn Chamberlain Lynner, Susan Chapman Linden, Edith Baker Lauerman, Angela Omstead Vikesland
Row 4: Bob Reimers III, John Staley, John Struchen, Craig Kuehl, John Bickel, Gerry Beck, Clarke Knudson, Lee Olson, Norm Pfortmiller Mills, Tom Herbert, Tom Kingston, Loren Hiratzka, Bob Blake
Row 5: Mike Troyer, Mike Vinyard, Jack Hufford, Rick Schimmel, Dean Johnson, Phil Gibbs, Jim Ingle, Allen Halterman, Jack Woodman, Bob Martin, Tom Jarom, Dan Wilson, Jay Miller
(Photo by Robyn Schwab Aaron ’07)
By the numbers
- 1946-2016 – Years represented
- 41 – States represented
- 57 – Events
- 641 – Registered attendees
- 44 – Gallons of coffee consumed
- 2,500+ #HomeOnTheHilltop likes on social media
- 1971 – Class with most dollars raised in past year ($1.2 million)
- $2.9 million – Total raised by reunion classes
- $15,813 – Spent at the Bookstore on Cornell clothing & accessories
