The first students at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, are invited to return for a special two-day reunion in July.
“Anyone who attended what was then called The Behrend Center during the 15 years between the college’s founding in 1948 and 1963 is considered a member of our Pioneer alumni group,” said Kristen Comstock, the college’s assistant director of alumni relations. “We look forward to having the first Behrend students back on campus this summer. Behrend has so much that’s new and exciting to show the Pioneers, and they in turn have a unique perspective on the college’s rich history to share with the current community.”
The event begins Thursday, July 23, with a performance on the college’s 48-bell Floyd and Juanita Smith Carillon. On Friday, July 24, the Pioneers and their guests can begin their day with a guided tour of the Behrend Arboretum led by Ann Bolla Quinn, a lecturer in biology and director of the Greener Behrend campus sustainability effort and a walking tour of campus led by a current student.
Following a complimentary lunch in the Robert and Sally Metzgar Admissions and Alumni Center there will be a presentation in the recently opened Yahn Planetarium, guided tours of the Lilley Library Archives and Hammermill Paper Company Archives, a memorabilia display that Pioneers are invited to bring contributions to and a picnic dinner on the lawn of Glenhill Farmhouse, Mary Behrend’s summer home. After Mary Behrend’s donation of her property to Penn State in the spring of 1948, Glenhill Farmhouse was immediately pressed into service as a dining facility, bookstore, infirmary and women’s dormitory; today it houses the college’s administrative offices.
Pioneers also will have opportunities to contribute to an oral history of Behrend curated by college archivist Jane Ingold.
The picnic dinner is free to Pioneer alumni; the cost for guests is $15 per person. Overnight on-campus accommodations will be offered in air-conditioned Ohio Hall; the cost is $35 a night for a single-occupancy room and $70 for a double room.
For a complete event schedule and additional information about accommodations or to make a reservation, contact Comstock at 814-898-6367 or email kcc146@psu.edu. The deadline for reservations and payment is Wednesday, July 1.