Homecoming is more than just a football game

Faculty, staff, students and alumni can show their UB spirit during Homecoming Weekend Oct. 6-8.

The weekend also serves as Family Weekend, with a wide variety of activities planned to provide families reconnecting with their students the opportunity to experience life at UB.

One of the most traditional of all college events, Homecoming offers a chance for alumni to return to campus and reconnect with faculty, staff and classmates, as well as explore changes that have taken place on campus since graduation. New this year, alumni also will be able to head back to the classroom and take part in a series of lectures on interesting and timely topics.        

“In addition to the big game and tailgate party, alumni will find a wide range of offerings during this year’s Homecoming Weekend, including lectures on Thursday and Friday,” says Kristin Woods, assistant vice president for alumni engagement. “Alumni can sign up for just one event, or come to them all.”

The lectures are open to UB faculty, staff and students, as well as alumni.

Lectures on Thursday tackle such topics as how to build strong business strategies, create plans for retirement and deliver concise presentations, among others. One seminar — of particular note with the upcoming presidential election — features political science faculty members James Campbell and Jacob Neiheisel, who will discuss “The Polarization of American Politics.”

On Friday, UB alumnus Edward Bednarczyk, chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, will deliver a breakfast talk entitled “Keeping the Medical in Medical Marijuana.”

That day’s lunch and lecture, “A Study of Student Activism,” will be presented by Bruce Jackson, SUNY Distinguished Professor and James Agee Professor of American Culture in the Department of English, and Claude Welch, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Political Science. Jackson and Welch will lead a discussion on student activism and how it affected not just campus life, but the wider world view.           

A special event this year is UB Groovin’ Weekend, a reunion for the classes of 1960-69 on Friday night. Alumni can reminisce about the good old days at the reunion party in the Harriman Hall Ballroom on the South Campus. Those wishing to attend should register online.

No homecoming would be complete without the traditional bonfire and fireworks display on Friday night on the shore of Lake LaSalle.

To cap off the weekend, ’70s and ’80s Top 40 rocker Eddie Money will perform at the free tailgate concert in Stampede Square before the Bulls take on the Kent State Golden Flashes Saturday afternoon in UB Stadium. Tickets for the Alumni Association's tailgate tent party and the football game are available online.

“We always hope that alumni think of their alma mater as a special place and know they are welcomed back at any time,” Woods says.                     

The full schedule of events, including registration fees for some of the seminars, can be found on the Homecoming website.