MRC/Collins LLC 40th Anniversary Reunion!
Alumni Reunion
The dust has settled following our 40th anniversary reunion. Approximately 150 MRC/Collins alumni and family members attended the event which included a jazz reception in Ed Formal followed by Shortstop barbecue al fresco under a tent in the courtyard Friday evening, outings to the Lilly Library, Art Museum and Griffy Lake on Saturday, a Dagwoods lunch (courtyard again), a tour of the "club house," visits to old rooms, a banquet in the Dining Hall on Saturday, and a farewell brunch on Sunday. Former directors (Ernest Bernhardt, Carl Ziegler, and Ellen Dwyer) were on hand for photos and sociability. Old friends of course had a chance to catch up and new ones were made. Several current or just graduated Collinsites were on hand to mix with the older crowd. The open mic on Saturday evening was at turns inspiring and touching. A memorial for Elissa Bradley was held on Saturday afternoon. The weather was lovely.
I don't think we'll probably do another one of these till 45, but that doesn't mean we can't plan other events in the interim. One idea I've had is an annual dinner or party, perhaps over the winter break or, again, just after the end of classes. I'd welcome feedback on that possibility.
We have received generous response to our fundraising appeal, over $5000 since the reunion between the Collins General Fund and the Elissa Bradley Scholarship Endowment. The Give Now button on the Collins home page now links to both the Bradley endowment and to the Collins General Fund.
As a reminder, the Bradley Endowment has been created in the memory of Elissa Bradley, a dynamic Collinsite who perished this past year. It will exist in perpetuity and "be used for undergraduate scholarships to reward students living in the Collins Living-Learning Center who have been especially active in promoting the mission of the Center as expressed in its core values: academics, community, diversity, sustainable living, and student empowerment." The first awards will be given in 2012-13.
Now we move into summer mode at Collins. The students (and alums) are gone, things have become quiet. Not for long, however, as the Groups program moves in on June 16. Each summer Groups prepares a cohort of over 200 incoming first generation and underrepresented students for their college experience. See below for a recruitment idea.
And the summer is also a relatively short one. The new IU calendar has us back for Welcome Week on August 13 with classes starting on the 20th.
It was great to meet with alumni at the reunion. I do hope to see some of you over the course of the 2012-13 academic year. Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you are in town.
Collins Awards
Funds donated by alumni and former directors to our general fund and other foundation accounts have allowed us to make several financial awards this past year.
*We gave two retention scholarships of $750 each to involved Collinsites who are returning next year:
Siarra Bazler (returning junior and BOEP co-chair)
Julia Ritter (returning junior and VP BOP)
*We gave one scholarship of $500 to defray the cost of the Sierra Nevada expeditions course:
Andrea Balzano (who also captained the Little 500 team)
*We gave four Bertotti-Goldberg Q-project prizes of $300 each:
Jensen Davis and Minelli Manoukian (Humans vs. Zombies)
...
Ash Kulack (Trans*/Gender Queer Issues at IU)
...
Veronica Simonetti (The Beehive Collective)
...
*We gave one Carl Ziegler service award of $300:
Rafal Swiatowski (for a yearlong story telling project at Middleway House)
*We gave two Ernest and Eva Bernhardt Awards of $75 in honor of seniors who have made the most significant contributions to Collins:
Alex Lahmeyer (co-manager of the Cheshire Cafe and much else)
Farrell Paules (literary arts coordinator and much else)
*We gave one $75 teaching award to Rich Walter (Musical Creativity).
*As a recruitment tool, I am proposing to offer two $500 scholarships to Groups students (see above) who would like to live at Collins.
Carl Ipsen
Professor of History
Director, Collins LLC
|
