We kicked off the weekend with the 2024 Anchor Awards, the university’s most prestigious set of alumni awards, given this year to seven alumni. The incredibly moving ceremony included honorees such as Lee Ann Leahy ‘84, a retired PricewaterhouseCoopers public accountant, and Antonio Javier Soler ‘86, the chief commercial officer at Monster Beverage.
The Parents Breakfast Social, hosted by the Director of Parent Engagement & Philanthropy and UHart's Parent Council, started off Saturday on a strong note. Parents had the opportunity to mingle with campus leadership and check out the Career Studio.
The Inauguration of Lawrence P. Ward as the seventh president of the university was the bright spot of the day. Those who attended left feeling inspired and with the challenge to “reimagine what excellence looks like.” Read more about the Inauguration.
The weather was definitely in our favor for traditional Homecoming activities on the Athletics side of campus. Hawktoberfest—with our alumni art marketplace, food trucks, and a beer garden—was a sea of alumni, parents, students, and friends. You could find them decked out in Hawktober Weekend exclusive soccer scarves, grabbing a bite to eat before heading over to watch the women’s soccer team earn a win over Wentworth.
The Athletics side of campus was also buzzing with excitement for the ribbon-cutting of the Grant Family Track and Field. Kevin Grant ‘82, M’86 officially opened the new track, encouraging UHart student athletes to “make this facility as inclusive as you possibly can.”
Afterwards, the men’s soccer team took on Wentworth and came out with a win. The Stadium Party, featuring traditional stadium foods such as pretzel bites and walking tacos, was definitely a mid-afternoon success.
Evening brought many long-standing annual events. The Black Student Union (BSU) Dinner took place in the 1877 Club, the School of Communication Reception was held in the Hursey Center, and the 50(ish) Reunion festivities started in GSU. Barney alumni from across the decades turned out for the Barney Networking Mixer, welcoming Dean Ivanic and celebrating the retirement of Celia Lofink.
Wrapping up Saturday night was The Return of the Pub, which this year welcomed parents, students, alumni, and friends to enjoy traditional pub food and drinks, plus trivia games. Redtail Records, the student-run artist management group, performed some groovy tunes for all to sing and dance to.
The fun continued early Sunday morning, with runners lining up for the Hartford Track & Field 5K. Closing out the weekend of activities was our annual, sold-out Jazz Brunch featuring lively music and the vocals of a returning favorite, Latanya Farrell M'97, M'98.
Throughout the weekend, folks could also catch the Mainstage musical performance of Something Rotten!, the story of two brothers who set out to write the world’s first musical in this hilarious mash-up of 16th-century Shakespeare and 21st-century Broadway.
UHart pride was on display around campus all weekend long as we celebrated why we’re all proud to be Hawks!