The year 1969 was “historic”! Some of the significant events include the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, which some 500,000 people attended. Frequent flyers may recall that 1969 was also the year when the first 747 aircraft completed its maiden flight. However, the single, most spectacular event in 1969 was, unquestionably, the first landing of men on the moon!

Now, 40 years later, you who graduated from the U in 1969 have joined the ranks of Emeritus Alumni, which gives you the opportunity to relive some of your college days when you visit the U of U campus during Homecoming Week (September 19-26).

Physically, the campus has changed remarkably in the past four decades: New buildings, new facilities, new roads, new landscaping. And there are a host of activities planned that will surely bring back memories. The highlight of the week will be the Emeritus Alumni Reunion on Wednesday, September 23. (See story below.) For the complete Homecoming schedule, go to www.alumni.utah.edu/homecoming.

Did you attend the U 40 or more years ago? Then this Emeritus Alumni Reunion is for you! Join us on Wednesday, September 23, for a tour of the beautifully renovated Park Building, followed by dinner and a speaker. Cost for the evening’s festivities is $25 per person.

Park Building Tour – 4 p.m.
Traditionally, we’ve toured one of the new facilities on campus at each year’s reunion. This year, we’ll visit one of the oldest: The John R. Park Building, the imposing structure at the top of Presidents Circle on lower campus.

Recently renovated, the Park Building, named for the University’s first president, John Rockey Park, was constructed in 1914. The building has served a variety of functions since it opened, including as the home of the University administration, library, and psychology, anthropology, and law departments. Of those functions, administration is the only one remaining.

Renovation of the building’s exterior required extensive restoration of the 95-year-old structure’s architectural elements. Fire protection systems were installed in a majority of interior spaces, and the bronze statue of John R. Park was fully restored and reinstalled on a new terra cotta pedestal, among other refurbishings. Tour participants will gather at the front of the building to begin the tour.

Alumni Reception – 5 p.m.
Park Building Patio
Join other emeritus alums on the Park Building patio located on the east side of the building. (The second floor of the building is reserved in case of bad weather.) Mix and mingle with old and new emeriti while enjoying some light refreshments.

Dinner and Speaker – 6 p.m.
Park Building Patio
Emeritus alumni will enjoy a superb buffet dinner on the patio (weather permitting). Following dinner, guests will be treated to a presentation by Dr. David Grainger, a University of Utah professor of bioengineering and Presidential Endowed Chair in Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, whose specialties include diagnostics and drug delivery.

Reunion Parking
Free, reserved parking will be available in Presidents Circle (the loop west of the Park Building). An attendant at the entrance to the circle will direct reunion guests where to park and proceed to the event, and golf cart shuttles will be available.

Reservations and More Information
Register for the reunion online here, or call Laura Cañate at the Alumni Association, (801) 581-6997. And be sure to encourage your friends to attend! To learn more about the full week of Homecoming events, visit the Homecoming ’09 Web page.

The Emeritus Alumni Board’s English language tutoring project, launched last year at Salt Lake City’s Bryant Intermediate School, has made significant progress. Board members and others devote an hour or more a week to help Bryant seventh- and eighth-graders, who speak some 30 different languages, learn to read and speak English. The success of the project has generated a request by the school for additional tutors. Volunteers will receive several hours of training in strategies to help students to read or to read better. For more information, or to volunteer, call Emeritus Board member Carolyn Kump at (801) 466-9411.

The Emeritus Alumni Board of Directors has named new officers and board members for the coming year. Mona Daniels Clark BS’62 MS’83 PhD’91 is the new president, and John Bennion BS’61 MA’62 serves as president-elect. Mona, who has been a board member since 2006, will serve a one-year term, and John, who joined the board in 2007, will become president next year. 

New board members, who will serve three-year terms, are:

Susan Breinholt Anderson BS’61, currently active in commercial real estate investments. She has been a member of the University of Utah Health Sciences Advocates for 10 years and has also served as a member of the Lowell Bennion Center board and the Junior League of Salt Lake City. She is married to C. Ross Anderson BS’61, and they are the parents of five adult children.

A. Pat Capson Brown BA’47 MA’82, a former staff writer for the Lifestyle section of The Salt Lake Tribune. Her extensive writing experience also includes publishing articles and poetry in outlets including Exponent II and Rocky Mountain Review. She received a Media Award from the Cerebral Palsy Association for Tribune articles on the subject and developed a public service project that won a national award from the American Cancer Society. Pat and her husband, William “Bill” Brown BA’47, have three grown children.

Judy Juhlin Brown ex’63, who was an executive secretary with an engineering firm before embarking on a career as a homemaker and community volunteer. She recently participated in a service project that produced dozens of quilts for The Road Home shelter. She has also served as a member of the Utah Symphony Guild board and as an advisor to the LDSSA Sorority at the University of Utah. She is married to Allen G. Brown BS’61, with whom she has five adult children.

Richard J. Carling BS’62 JD’65, a Utah attorney in private practice. He served in both the Utah House of Representatives (1967-73) and the Senate (1973-1990), chairing both houses’ Higher Education Appropriations committees. His previous service to the University of Utah includes membership on the College of Health board. He and his wife, Diane Saxey Carling ex’62, are the parents of four grown children.

Each year, the University of Utah Emeritus Alumni Board presents its Merit of Honor Award to five former students who have given distinguished service to the nation, the University, the community, and/or their profession. Nominees must have left the University 40 or more years ago.