Class of 1965 to reunite at UW-Madison

Nostalgia and campus memories will blend with new Badger stories and visions of the future when alumni from the Class of 1965 celebrate their 50-year reunion at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

More than 200 alumni are expected for the reunion weekend, Oct. 1-4, hosted by the Wisconsin Alumni Association. Upon their arrival, classmates will get a firsthand look at what their class gift will be supporting: Alumni Park — in particular, a Bucky Badger statue that will be featured prominently in the park; and the new Hamel Music Center. One of the most exciting developments surrounding this year’s class gift is the $100,000 matching gift challenge from 1965 graduate Edward Rogan II.

“The UW’s College of Letters & Science molded me into thinking like a Renaissance man,” says Rogan. And his professors, he recalls, taught him how to think, not what to think. “I am so grateful for that,” he adds. It’s because of that gratitude and Rogan’s dedication to UW–Madison over the years (he’s also a member of the University of Wisconsin Foundation‘s Bascom Hill Society and the Chazen Museum of Art Council) that he wanted to rally fellow classmates by bolstering their support of the class gift.

Along with celebrating the legacy they’ll leave with their class gift, the graduates of ’65 will engage with UW faculty during the annual Day of Learning, which includes sessions on “How Music Changed through the Sixties,” “Addressing the Next Century’s Challenges Today,” “Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” and “Healthy Living.”

Beyond the Day of Learning, reunion-goers will partake in a variety of campus tours and a special tailgate before the Badger football game against Iowa.

The highlight for many, though, will be a dinner event at which Chancellor Rebecca Blank will welcome them into the Half Century Club. This time-honored tradition will also include awarding commemorative pins and recognizing the Class of 1965 gift.