YSU gears up for reunion

By Harold Gwin

The reunion will coincide with the arts festival and Fort on the Fifty at YSU.

YOUNGSTOWN — All 85,000 of Youngstown State University’s alumni are invited to come back to campus for the All Alumni Reunion on July 12.

The university isn’t expecting quite that many, but it does anticipate several thousand graduates will show up for the event that is part of YSU’s ongoing centennial anniversary celebration.

There are events and activities for all age groups scheduled throughout the day, and each of the university’s six colleges will conduct its own programs.

The reunion is scheduled to run in conjunction with the annual Summer Festival of the Arts on the YSU campus as well as the annual Fort on the Fifty musical entertainment and fireworks display in Stambaugh Stadium, said Heather Belgin, events coordinator for the Office of Alumni and Events Management.

Alumni have been encouraged to schedule a trip back to YSU as part of their summer plans to help with the centennial celebration, which began at homecoming in fall 2007 and will officially end with fall 2008 homecoming.

There will be campus and Andrews Wellness Center tours, a variety of entertaining and informative programs at each of the six colleges throughout the afternoon and an alumni dinner in Kilcawley Center.

This is a first-time event and is scheduled as part of the centennial, Belgin said, but she has suggested to the university’s Board of Trustees that it might become an annual occurrence.

There are a lot of alumni in the tri-county area who will be attending, but her office also has received reservations from graduates nationwide, including some from Texas, Georgia, Illinois, New York, North Carolina and Florida, she said.

Reservations for the reunion are required and can be made by visiting the YSU alumni Web site at www.ysu.edu/alumni. Forms are also available by calling the office at (330) 941-1591. Reunion brochures promoting the event also contain registration forms. Friday is the reservation deadline.

The community also is welcome on campus for both the annual arts festival and Fort on the Fifty, Belgin said.

Those coming for the reunion are encouraged to make a weekend of it by attending the free outdoor jazz fest concert from 6 p.m. to midnight July 11 at the B O Station, 530 Mahoning Ave.

gwin@vindy.com