Reunion 2025 Highlights
When we imagine Vassar reunions, we picture meandering along the pathways getting to and from the many events across campus, stopping by the Quad for refreshments and games, catching up with friends under Vassar’s beautiful trees, and, most of all, donning class regalia to march joyously across campus for the annual Reunion parade.
But torrential rains and severe thunderstorms washed over the campus during Reunion weekend, June 5–8. Phones buzzed several times a day with emergency weather alerts, urging alums to take shelter inside. That didn’t seem to dampen spirits, though.
“It was a terrific weekend and there were benefits to being forced to shelter in place during the Saturday afternoon wild thunderstorms,” says Eric Marcus ’80. “I re-met an acquaintance from the Class of ’81 who is on the AAVC Board, Heller An [Shapiro], and we wound up trapped in Rocky 200 for an extended period while the dramatic thunderstorms blew through. We had a wide-ranging, very personal conversation.” Quite a few alums reported similar encounters.
As Diana Jedlicka, Director of Volunteer Engagement and Reunion, notes, the classes ending in 0 and 5 had not been back for Reunion in 10 years due to COVID. “But this Reunion saw record attendance numbers," she says. "Over 2,000 alums, guests, children, staff, and students were here on campus. We haven’t seen attendance like this since Reunion 2019!
Reunion 2025 Photo Gallery
“I am still in awe of how this campus came together to support the largest on-campus event sponsored in partnership by the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College and the College itself. Much of the 18 months of preparation were altered due to the horrific weather we experienced on Friday and Saturday. Nevertheless, there was such a positive energy buzzing throughout the weekend. Folks really seemed to enjoy just being back on campus again after 10 years.”
The Class of 1975 celebrated its 50th Reunion this year. Patricia Neely, Class President, says, “We had a great time just being together—celebrating ourselves through an artist showcase featuring visual and decorative arts we created and the books we published, and a musicale in which we performed.”
Class programming emphasized the creativity and vitality of 1975 alums. Emily Kelting, who helped to organize their Artist and Author’s Showcase, says the response to their call to action had been “overwhelming.” Twenty-five artists and authors displayed and spoke about their work during a reception in Davison, highlighting everything from ceramic arts to photography, from journalistic publications to novels. Kelting says it all goes to show that “in our 70s, we are still going strong. And in these stressful times, we’re making the point that art nourishes our souls.”
Two classical musicians—Neely and classmate George Litterst—organized the musicale that featured alums from the classes of 1985, 1990, 2000, and 2020, in addition to members of the Class of 1975. Via Zoom, the group also thanked and entertained Rowland Winton Evans ’75, a musician whose recent $28 million donation will rename the campus’s Bridge for Laboratory Sciences, subsidize the cost of individual instrument lessons for students, help support the Music Department’s annual concert programming, as well as support the Vassar Fund. Read more about the gift.
On Friday of Reunion weekend, the Class of 1985 hosted a reception for Connecting Through the Camera: The Class of 1985 Portrait Project in the Palmer Gallery in the College Center. Class President Nancy Kwang Johnson had been the driving force behind the project, enlisting Los Angeles–based photographer Daniel Reichert ’85 to photograph as many classmates as possible. More than 100 alums sat for portraits in cities across the U.S. Susan Manbur, who sat for a portrait in Manhattan, says the experience served to bolster connections between classmates: “I think the other classes are a little jealous.”
Other highlights included the Saturday morning’s Hour with the President in the Chapel. There, President Elizabeth Bradley expressed appreciation to alums and supporters of Vassar and urged them to stay engaged and informed amid national challenges to higher education. Federal directives that threaten DEI initiatives, academic freedom, federal funding, college endowments, and the immigration status of international students were concerns mentioned, but Bradley told the audience that engagement is key. She and other Vassar officials, she reported, have been strengthening the College’s presence in DC and building bipartisan relationships to advocate for higher education. Bradley also affirmed Vassar’s commitment to engaged pluralism and peaceful protest.
The parade is typically held after the president’s hour, but due to approaching thunderstorms, it was canceled, and alums remained in the Chapel for Celebrate Vassar—where classes report on and celebrate Reunion giving and the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College (AAVC) holds its annual meeting. The event opened with alums dancing in the aisles as their classes were called. The 50th reunion class, 1975, joyously moved their hips to the sounds of their selected serenade song, "We are Family” by Sister Sledge, and 1970, which had missed out on their serenade in 2000, boogied down to “Respect” by Aretha Franklin.
Later, the proceedings were punctuated by protesters urging the College to consider divestment from alleged military investments relating to the war in Gaza. But despite the interruptions, Vassar Fund Chair Kat Mills Polys ’93 was able to announce a grand total of nearly $70 million in Reunion gifts, including the $28 million donation from Rowland Evans.
During a luncheon in Alumnae House after Celebrate Vassar, the AAVC bestowed the 2025 Outstanding Faculty Award upon Ronald D. Patkus, Head of Special Collections and College Historian, and Adjunct Associate Professor of History on the Frederick Weyerhaeuser Chair, citing his efforts to make Special Collections holdings more accessible in a variety of ways.
Throughout the weekend, there were also class dinners, a reception honoring donors, campus tours, and a joyous all-class dance party. Vassar closed out the weekend on Sunday with a touching memorial service in the Chapel honoring alums who had passed since the last Reunion.
Jedlicka says she’s thankful to all those who helped the weekend come together. “All of the class volunteers that I worked with over the last year to make this weekend special for their classmates were amazing. The creativity, dedication, care, and thoughtfulness to make this weekend meaningful always takes my breath away. I am beyond grateful to work with such a great group of alums.”