Homecoming at Home, the virtual Monmouth College homecoming week celebration kicks off Monday, October 5th and will run through Saturday the 10th. Associate Vice President of Communications and Marketing Duane Bonifer highlights events scheduled to take place:
“We have the virtual 5K event, which is October 5th through the 10th. On the 6th of October, it is Scots Spirits Day, that where I encourage folks to share pictures of themselves in Monmouth gear. There will be a live prayer service. Sipping with Scotch with Scots will be the evening of Thursday, October 8th and then the Alumni Impact Awards will be at six o’clock. It will be a Facebook live event; so just dial up facebook.com/monmouthcollege and you will be able to the Alumni Impact Awards to the folks that will be honored this year. We are going to have several professor coffee chats on Saturday, October 10th. You can get on Zoom and folks can chat with their favorite Monmouth College professor. Then instead of having a football game on October 10th, we are going to have something call “Best of Game Day” where coach Chad Braun is going to relive some of the highlights of Monmouth College football over the years,” shares Bonifer.
A box of Monmouth College Homecoming Swag can also be purchased.
An unusual year full of unusual circumstances has led to a creative approach for this year’s Homecoming activities at Monmouth College.
Rather than the usual sentiment urging alumni to “come home for Homecoming,” the College will be celebrating “Homecoming @ Home.”
“While connecting virtually is not the same as physically lining Broadway for the parade, passing through The Quad or cheering on the Fighting Scots from the hilltop above April Zorn Memorial Stadium, we are doing our best to connect alumni with their classmates – and our faculty, staff and students – no matter where they live,” said Vice President for Development and College Relations Hannah Maher.
Homecoming activities will begin Oct. 5, when alumni and the campus community can take part in a virtual 5K run. Participants simply need to run five kilometers at some point during the week through Oct. 10, then share their results on social media.
Alumni are encouraged to share their Scots spirit through various social media platforms throughout Oct. 6.
Alumni from around the country can be transported back to the front steps of the College’s iconic Wallace Hall for a sunset prayer service at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 7. Led by Dean of the Chapel the Rev. Teri Ott, the outdoor service will be shared on Zoom and Facebook Live.
The week’s festivities will continue Oct. 8 with a Zoom presentation called “Sippin’ with the Scots: Scotch Edition.” Dean of the Faculty Mark Willhardt and educational studies professor Craig Vivian will share their knowledge of one of Scotland’s top exports, Scotch whiskey.
The annual Alumni Impact Awards ceremony will be held virtually at 6 p.m. Oct. 9. Always a highlight of Homecoming weekend, the ceremony will include the induction of two former Monmouth College Board of Trustees members into the Hall of Achievement – the highest honor the College bestows upon its graduates.
This year’s inductees are educational television pioneer Bonnie Bondurant Shaddock ’54 and venture capitalist and entrepreneur Larry Gerdes, the first non-alumnus to receive the honor since the Hall of Achievement was established in 1992.
Others to be honored at the Alumni Impact Awards ceremony are: former vice president for development and college relations Steve Bloomer ’83, Distinguished Alumnus; longtime admissions counselor Peter Pitts, Distinguished Service; successful professional and volunteer Zak Edmonds ’08, Young Alumnus; and the Riggs family, Family of the Year. Art professor Stacy Lotz will be recognized for receiving the Hatch Academic Excellence Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Coffee chats at 10 a.m. with several Monmouth professors will begin the Oct. 10 activities. More than two dozen faculty members will be on Zoom calls, sharing memories and laughs with alumni. Among the participants will be five emeritus professors: Harlow Blum, Jim De Young, Lee McGaan, Bill Wallace and George Waltershausen.
At 11 a.m., also via Zoom, a roundtable discussion about diversity and inclusion will be held, led by Harvey Echols ’81, a family medicine doctor in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Saturday of Homecoming usually features a big game, but in lieu of the Fighting Scots football team being in action at Zorn Stadium, head coach Chad Braun and his staff will host a “Best of Game Day” program at 1:30 p.m. on Zoom and Facebook Live. Braun and his staff will relive some Monmouth gridiron highlights and also share what the Scots are doing to prepare for a season of spring football.
Homecoming T-shirts are available online, with all proceeds going to the Monmouth Fund. By making a gift of $50 or more to the Monmouth Fund, individuals will receive a Scots Swag Box full of College-branded items.
Check out the full schedule of events: monmouthcollege.edu/alumni/events/homecoming/.
