Alumni return to 'Cream and Crimson'

This weekend IU alumni will flock to Bloomington to celebrate their 50-year reunion at the IU Alumni Association's annual Cream and Crimson Weekend. Attendees to the event will participate in various social functions throughout the weekend as new emeritus alumni are honored. \nApproximately 125 people from the class of 1956 are expected at the event, which is the main alumni function for the year. There are also many events scattered throughout the weekend that cover different aspects of the Alumni Association. The main social gathering will be Saturday morning, when alumni from all classes meet together for a barbecue luncheon at the DeVault Alumni Center. \n"The only reunion we do now is this one," said Al White of the Devault Alumni Center. "We used to do a 10th, 20th, but numbers were down. Now, we hold a 50th reunion every year during this weekend. The only other alumni event close to as big as this is homecoming in the fall." \nFollowing the barbecue are various meetings, such as the bi-annual Executive Council meeting where the policy making sector of the Alumni Association convenes.\n"The Executive Council consists of 85 people who decide the future of the Alumni Association, as well as new policies, programs and speakers," said Rebecca Keith, assistant to IU Alumni Association President Kenneth A. Beckley. "We decide what sort of programs go on during the year for alumni and discuss the entrance of new affiliate groups or societies that want to have representations in the association."\nMost of the constituent societies are school-based. For example, there is a School of Law and a Jacobs School of Music constituent society in which graduates of those organizations can be part of a niche group of alumni. \nThe emeritus dinner will be held Friday for those celebrating their 50th graduation anniversary. \n"Alumni become part of the emeritus club once they pass their 50th anniversary," said Karen Conrad, who is organizing the dinner.\nProfessor Emeritus Rudy Pozzatti from IU's Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts and a graduate of the class of 1976 will be a keynote speaker during the emeritus dinner and will recall his World War II experiences. After the dinner, alumni will make their way to the Class of 1956 Banquet. These events will both be held in the Indiana Memorial Union. \n"This is just one part of the Cream and Crimson Weekend," Conrad said. "Throughout the weekend alumni will be able take a tour of the campus and do other things that bring them back to IU." \nSaturday morning, participants will have the opportunity to eat breakfast with other alumni from the school which they graduated from. The College of Arts and Sciences, Kelley School of Business, School of Education and the School of Journalism will all be holding separate breakfasts. \nAnother aspect of the Cream and Crimson is The Distinguished Alumni Service Award dinner that will be held Saturday night to present awards to distinguished alumni for their continuing support of IU. \n"There are five alumni to be awarded this year," White said. "They are lifelong IU supporters, they are all graduates from Indiana University (and) they have served the University in various ways." \nThe honorees, as well as University dignitaries, friends of the University and friends of DASA recipients, will attend the dinner. It is also open to the general public. \nDuring the dinner, the names of attending alumni will be read. Both IU President Adam Herbert and IU Chancellor Ken Gros Louis are scheduled to make speeches introducing the alumni class and reminiscing on their past memories and thoughts about IU's last 50 years. \nBuckley will swear in the 1956 class as new members of the emeritus class. The DASA awards are presented last with speeches about each individual recipient's work. The dinner ends with the singing of "Hail Old IU." \n"The DASA is important because it's the highest honor that Indiana University can give to graduates who support them with their time and talent," White said.