2008 Recap and Giving Update

The campus radiated with smiles, Hoya spirit - and D.C. humidity - during Georgetown University's Main Campus Reunion 2008. From May 29 -June 1, more than 3,700 alumni, family, and friends were welcomed back to the Hilltop for a weekend of fun, learning, and the celebration of 5th through 50th reunions and beyond.

As in previous years, the generosity of Georgetown alumni was a weekend highlight, with approximately $60 million raised in total class gifts. This year recognized both reunion veterans and first-timers, as the reunion awards were shared by classes 35 years apart. The Class of 1968 was awarded the Blue-Gray Cup for raising the largest class gift during the five years since their last reunion - $18.5 million - breaking the all-time reunion record of $17.8 million raised by the Class of 1977 last year. Claiming the remaining two awards, the Class of 2003 earned the President's Cup for the highest percentage of donors in a reunion year (28.5 percent) and the Reunion Cup for the largest percentage of classmates in attendance (25 percent).

Thank you to these and all reunion classes for your contributions and your commitment to Georgetown.

This year inaugurated the first-ever All-Class Procession, with more than 300 alumni sporting class t-shirts and carrying their class banners as they marched up O Street and across Healy Circle on the way to Gaston Hall to hear the presidential address. Father McFadden welcomed alumni as they passed through Healy Gates, noting memories and distinctions of each class, before the entire procession erupted into the Georgetown fight song. When the skies responded at the All-Class Picnic with thunder and rain, Jack the Bulldog's grin and the happy chatter of reminiscing friends perpetuated - despite damp feet.

Throughout the weekend, academic seminars brought alumni back to the classroom to learn about topics ranging from religion to international health, politics to microbes. Professors and alumni shared their expertise in three of the most popular seminars: "The Problem of God, Revisited," led by Otto Hentz, S.J. (H'66); "Predicting the 2008 Presidential Election," which included Chris Cillizza (C'98), WashingtonPost.com columnist, and Missy Owens (C'98), deputy national political director and deputy state director in Iowa for Senator Joe Biden; and "My Life As A Diplomat," featuring a panel of Georgetown alumni who have served as ambassadors. At the University President's Event, attended by more than 600 guests, President John J. DeGioia led an intimate conversation with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Mortara Distinguished Professor of Diplomacy, about current foreign policy issues and her career at the State Department and at Georgetown.

Intimate dialogues intermixed with games and fun, as families found more kid-friendly programs than ever before. Through an art safari, a sports clinic, a design workshop and science experiments, kids of all ages explored the many dimensions of Georgetown. Until the culminating Farewell Breakfast on Sunday, the Hilltop pulsed with the energy of Hoya kids and all those who returned to share panels, parties, Masses, and memories across generations of Hoyas, Hoya families, and friends.