Aurora College graduates plan reunions

Aurora College graduating classes of 1964 and 1969 will hold 50th and 45th reunions Friday through Sunday, Oct. 10-12, during Aurora University's 2014 homecoming celebration.

Events open Friday with registration from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Founders House, 1307 Marseillaise Place in Aurora. Guided campus tours, including Alumni Hall, Wackerlin Center and Crimi Auditorium will begin and end at Founders House from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Alumni are invited to a complimentary lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the university banquet hall at Alumni Hall, 1410 Marseillaise Place in Aurora. Reservations are required. Call (800) 377-2782.

At 2 p.m., reunion classes will be recognized at the annual Founders Convocation in Crimi Auditorium at the Institute for Collaboration, 1347 Prairie St. in Aurora.

An annual alumni awards dinner is set for 6 p.m. at the university banquet hall. AU President Rebecca L. Sherrick will welcome alums; alumni achievements will be recognized; and choir students will perform.

Selected to receive the Distinguished Alumni Award are Guadalupe Reyes, '70; Brian Grimwood, '64; and Shenin Sachedina, '85. Cal Myers of Aurora, '64, will be inducted into the Spartan Athletic Hall of Fame. Tickets are $25 per person. Reservations are required; call (800) 377-2782.

Saturday events will open with registration from 8 to 11 a.m. at Founder House.

At 9:30 a.m. alumni and students are invited to join President Sherrick for conversation about AU in Perry Theatre, 349 S. Gladstone Ave.

Dedication of the Homer Easley Education Center will take place at 10:45 a.m. at the John C. Dunham STEM Partnership School. Tours of the school will follow the ceremony.

Alumni are invited to an annual all-campus homecoming lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the campus quadrangle. Admission is free, but reservations are required. Call (800) 377-2782.

Continuing a tradition begun in 1954, and revived in 2012, students will run the Spartan torch 40 miles from Mendota, Ill., site of AU's original school, to Vago Field in Aurora. Arrival time is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Student runners will hand off the torch to Cal Myers of Aurora, Class of '64, who will light the Spartan flame.

At 1 p.m., the annual homecoming football game will pit AU's Spartans against Concordia University Wisconsin.

During the game, refreshments and children's activities will be available on Spartan Terrace.

STEM education at AU will be showcased from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Easley Education Center in the Dunham STEM School by AU faculty who teach in the school.

Class of '64 alums will meet for dinner at 5:30 p.m. at the Wackerlin Center for Faith and Action. Free, but reservations are required. Call (800) 377-2782.

Class of '69 alums are invited to a 5:30 p.m. reception followed by dinner at the university banquet hall. Free, but reservations are required. Call (800) 377-2782.

At 7:30 p.m., four-time Tony Award nominee Gregg Edelman will perform. Broadway tunes and classic melodies with the energetic Don Cagen Orchestra in Crimi Auditorium.

Sunday events will open at 10 a.m. with a service of remembrance in Perry Theatre. Members of the classes of '64 and '69 will lead the service.

After the service, an 11 a.m. brunch for alums will be held in the Institute for Collaboration atrium. Free, but reservations are required. Call (800) 377-2782.

At 1 p.m. in Perry Theatre, virtuoso Gregg Edelman will discuss his career in musical theater, film and television with alumni.

At 3 p.m. in Phillips Library, alumni are invited to help librarians identify photos from the Doris Colby Archives.

Alumni weekend events will close with an informal farewell dinner for alums at 5 p.m. in the university banquet hall.

Class of '64 reunion committee members are Nancy Crimi Beggs, Al Benson, Jan Clarke Gilbert, Brian Grimwood, Cal Myers, Merilyn Woody Stone and Dewey Thompson.

Class of '69 reunion committee members are Frank Hall, Tom Gandee, Larry Solomon, Ruth Wiedman Solomon, Judy Bell Stone, Sandi Scent Bolton and Saundra Copeland Wagner.

For information or reservations, call (800) 377-2782 or email alumni@aurora.edu.