We hosted a small Collins MRC/LLC Alumni Dinner on Saturday, May 17th, 2025 from 6:00PM-9:00PM in the Dottie Collins Commons at Collins Living-Learning Center (541 N. Woodlawn Ave) on the Bloomington campus.
The event started with alumni signing in and picking up a name tag at the check in table around 6:00PM, though we did have a few early arrivals who stopped by to say hello and then went to explore campus until the start of the event.
After signing in, guests entered the Dottie Collins Commons and were able to mingle and catch up with friends while grabbing a drink at the bar. As the majority of guests finished entering, folks took their seats and were greeted by Director Carl Ipsen. The buffet opened and guests were able to fill their plates with the “homestyle classic” options from IU Catering. Once everyone was seated, Director Carl Ipsen took the time to thank everyone for coming and share some updates about Collins. Guests learned of the new banners created by student James Kranich (now hanging in the space), our Little 500 team, and other activities/events from the 2024-2025 year. Carl then opened the mic up for anyone to say a few words as everyone continued eating. The only taker was our upcoming returning Director, Lara Kriegel. Lara thanked everyone for coming and shared a few words about her anticipation for returning to Collins next year and the hope for future alumni gatherings like this one.
The following hour to hour and a half attendees enjoyed their meal and drinks from the bar and spent time chatting with fellow guests. Several folks switched seats, going from table to table to talk to different people throughout the meal.
At 7:30PM, we offered a tour of some of the renovated public spaces in Collins-Edmondson. Interested attendees were able to see and learn more about the Commons, the Formal Lounge, the Lobby, and the Tate Holt Tower Lounge, as well as getting to ride in the elevator (added in the renovation). We answered questions about spaces and talked about some renovations we couldn’t show them, such as those done to the student rooms. We also highlighted that the campus show room is now located at Collins, so if they want to see what a room looks like now, they are always welcome to check that out during its open hours whenever they are on campus.
As the tour group returned to the event location, some groups were forming in the back of the room to assemble for photos. The younger alumni especially were interested in capturing the group that made it to the event.
The dinner wound down around 8:00-8:30PM as alumni shared their gratitude for us hosting the event and made some suggestions for future iterations, should we be able to do something like this again. Some alumni were getting on the road to drive back home, while others fell into smaller groups to go out and enjoy local Bloomington haunts while they were still in town. Overall, while casual in structure, the event was a great success and seemed to be very well appreciated by those who were able to make it.
The College of Arts