Alumni
Alumni
have been gathering on campus since 1906 when the OAC Class of 1904 held
a reunion, but the the campus-wide Alumni Weekend tradition began with
the establishment of the University
of Guelph Alumni Association (UGAA) in 1966. This picnic was held
during Alumni Weekend 1983.
Unlike most university alumni associations, UGAA began with a membership of more than 10,000 and a campus heritage dating back a full century. Today, there are over 70,000 U of G alumni, and the organization works harder than ever to support the goals and objectives of the University.
On its first anniversary, UGAA supported the University's newly established development fund by holding an auction of crockery retired from Creelman Hall. In 1970, UGAA gave its first Alumnus of Honour Award to Frank Palmer, BSA 13. And by the time it was 10 years old, it had mobilized alumni to establish an annual-giving fund to provide financial support for a student scholarship endowment fund, the launch of the Arboretum and the building of Alumni Stadium.
At its 20th anniversary, UGAA was involved in planning and fund-raising to support the restoration of Alumni House, which opened in 1987 as permanent home for U of G alumni. UGAA will celebrate its 35th anniversary during Alumni Weekend 2001.