Cornell prepares to welcome alumni for Homecoming 2017

The smell of fall is in the air, which means Homecoming on the Hilltop is almost here. Cornell is inviting all alumni and their families to visit campus for the weekend of Sept. 22-24.

Senior Director of Alumni Engagement and Leadership Annual Giving RJ Holmes-Leopold ’99 and the team in Alumni and College Advancement are working to prepare for all of the festivities.

“Cornellians coming home to the Hilltop and re-connecting with friends and faculty mentors is the best part about Homecoming each year,” Holmes-Leopold said. “It’s also a great opportunity for everyone to create new memories.”

Many new items are on the schedule along with the traditions from the past.

Some new highlights include:

• The current senior class marching into King Chapel as part of Homecoming Convocation to commemorate their last year on the Hilltop
  • Sept. 23, 11 a.m.-noon
• A beam-signing event and topping out ceremony to place the final steel beam on Russell Science Center marking the end of a phase of construction
  • Sept. 23, ceremony begins at 12:30 p.m. at the construction site, signing takes place Friday and Saturday.
• Alumni and current students gathering for Celebrate Cornell on the Orange Carpet, a new tradition featuring the Midwest Dueling Pianos.
  • Sept. 23, 8-11 p.m.

Some fan favorites from over the years include:

• Homecoming Pep Rally and Fireworks at Ash Park Football Field
  • Sept. 22, 8:30-9:30 p.m.
• Cornell College versus Beloit College Football Game at Ash park Football Field
  • Sept. 23, 2 p.m.
• Homecoming Convocation in King Chapel
  • Sept. 23, 11 a.m.-noon

The following alumni will be honored at Homecoming Convocation:

• Distinguished Achievement: William Tolbert ’77  
• Leadership & Service: Michael Bellito ’72, Fred Holtz ’86, Craig Vickstrom ’92
• Young Alumni Achievement: Brittany Atchison Horn ’10  

If you can’t make it back to campus for Homecoming, feel free to join the festivities on social media using #HomeontheHilltop.

“Cornell is an amazing liberal arts college, and alumni on and off the Hilltop play a huge role in our success,” Holmes-Leopold said. “Alumni can continue to be involved with Cornell after Homecoming by attending events with friends in their home city, volunteering with our admission team to recruit the next generation of Cornellians, mentoring current students through the Berry Career Institute, and making Cornell affordable to students by giving to the Cornell Annual Fund.”

Email alumni@cornellcollege.edu to volunteer to help Cornell virtually or in your local area.