The first Emory Weekend, May 6–10, is fast approaching, boasting a schedule filled with programs and events that join traditions both old and new.

With a revamped look and scheduled for the first time to coincide with Commencement on May 10, Emory Weekend—a “celebration of all things Emory,” according to Bob Pennington, vice president for alumni affairs and special development programs—will “give our alumni the chance to reconnect with University tradition, with the beauty of the springtime campus and with one another, while also enriching the experience of our graduating seniors by allowing for meaningful interaction with alumni and a ceremonial tradition to alumni status,” Pennington said.

The decision to move (and rename) Alumni Weekend to the spring was made “in an effort to boost attendance and make the weekend a more vibrant experience for all,” according to Gerald Lowery, senior director of campus relations.

Programs and departments across campus, from theater to theology, business to biology, were encouraged to develop discipline-specific activities for alumni from their areas, and many of these events are sprinkled over the weekend’s four days, starting on Thursday, May 6, and running through Commencement the following Monday.

Lowery said the weekend will be the culmination of a full year’s planning, and he anticipates this year’s turnout to be the highest ever, “with many educational programs, concerts, dance performances, and lots of receptions, providing many ways for people to enjoy the weekend.”

The weekend will get under way with a golf scamble on Tuesday, May 6, benefiting the Emory Sports Hall of Fame. On Friday evening there will be a celebratory concert at the Schwartz Center featuring Emory faculty, student and alumni artists. Saturday will feature a block party on McDonough Field complete with a shrimp boil, followed by a concert by Indigo Girls (and Emory alumnae) Emily Saliers, ’85C, and Amy Ray, ’86C; the Emory Legatee Reception; and in the evening, the reunion gatherings, followed by a semi-formal ball honoring graduates, alumni and their families. On Sunday, alumni will be encouraged to attend the annual Commencement Concert in Glenn Auditorium.

The involvement of all members of the 50th reunion class, as well as those who graduated earlier than 1954, in an alumni group called Corpus Cordis Aureum (Latin for “The Golden Corps of the Heart”) will become a new Commencement tradition, Lowery said. This new group will be formally inducted at the Miller-Ward Alumni House on Sunday, May 9, by Dean of Alumni Jake Ward and will march clad in academic regalia along with the graduates during the Commencement procession onto the Quadrangle.

The Oxford College Baccalaureate Service will be held on Friday evening, May 7, and Oxford’s Commencement will take place the next morning at 10 a.m. on the Quadrangle. Dean Dana Greene will preside, and President Jim Wagner will confer diplomas.

A full schedule of Emory Weekend events can be found at www.alumni.emory.edu/emory-weekend.htm. For more information or to register for programs, call the Association of Emory Alumni at 404-727-6400.