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Singers from Annoited Ministries perform on stage in Baker Ballroom for the Black Alumni Reunion Variety Show on Saturday, September 17, 2016.
Greetings Black Alumni Reunion attendees! Ohio University is excited to welcome a record number of attendees to the 2019 event Athens.
More than 1,000 black alumni and guests are expected to enjoy an engaging mix of casual and formal events – from networking and learning opportunities to entertaining and festive occasions. All programming is designed to welcome the University’s black alumni and to celebrate their ties to OHIO.
Tyrone Carr, OHIO’s special assistant to the vice president for University Advancement and executive director of the Interlink Alliance, noted that alumni enthusiasm for this BAR weekend is so high, all official Alumni Association events sold out.
“The BAR Planning Committee has been working hard, and it’s nice to see that alumni and friends are ready to enjoy an exciting and safe weekend in Athens,” Carr said. “It’s exciting to have the men of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity celebrating their 100-year anniversary on campus with a Centennial Ball. We also have numerous first-time events that I’m excited about, including Friday’s OHIO Athletics Black Alumni Reunion at the Sook Academic Center, and Saturday’s Bobcat Kick-it-Out soccer tournament at Walter Fieldhouse.”
Dr. Gigi Secuban, vice president for diversity and inclusion, said she is excited to see the thousands of alumni who will be returning to campus this weekend.
“I am excited for our alumni to network with students, and I am personally looking forward to meeting new people,” she said. “This event always brings positive energy back to campus."
This year’s BAR schedule is highlighted by the following events:
On Thursday, the BAR Welcome Reception will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at Tailgreat Park across from the Convocation Center. OHIO President M. Duane Nellis will deliver welcome remarks, and the Marching 110 will perform.
On Friday, a Variety Show featuring singing, dancing, theatrical sketches, and a black Greek step show will be held at 7 p.m. in Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. There also will be two DJs providing the musical entertainment. This event is free and open to the public.
Saturday’s schedule features the Ebony Bobcat Network Annual Breakfast Meeting in the morning, the Through the Decades Cookout in the afternoon and the BAR Gala in the evening. All three events are sold out and require tickets.
The BAR schedule also features a Black Lives Matter art exhibit, many college alumni events, an Urban Scholars scholarship fundraiser, and a couple of events honoring the late Alvin Adams, one of the first black graduates of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
President Nellis said he is excited to have so many black alumni and friends back on campus and said that he is very proud of all that they represent.
“We certainly want to engage them and utilize their great talents as we look to the future,” he said.
For more information about BAR, visit ohioreunion.org .