Homecoming Schedule 2016

Please stop by for registration, printed programs, messages, information on the Amherst area and light refreshments. Alumni House will close at 7 p.m.

Alumni House, 75 Churchill Street, (413) 542-2065

Visit professors and students in the classroom. A list of classes open to visitors is available here and printed copies will be available at the Alumni House Reception Center.

Various locations

Mead Art Museum Open
The Mead Art Museum is a world-class art collection of Amherst College with holdings of more than 19,000 objects spanning 5,000 years of global culture.  The works are used for object-based teaching and research across the academic disciplines and available for the pleasure and understanding of a diverse public. Collection highlights appear in regularly changing exhibitions. A bookshop offers museum publications, postcards and more. Admission is free, and the museum is fully accessible. Museum closes at 8 p.m.

View current exhibitions.

Beneski Museum of Natural History Open
The Beneski Museum of Natural History houses outstanding collections and exhibits that include vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology, minerals and other geologic specimens. Our specimens have been collected since 1825 from local areas and around the world. Some displays illustrate the evolution and ecology of major groups of animals, and others describe the geological processes that have formed the earth and local structures. Particularly noteworthy is the world-famous dinosaur track collection from the sedimentary rocks of the Connecticut Valley. This collection continues to be the largest fossil track collection in the world and one of the most studied. Museum closes at 4 p.m.

Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main Street

The Association for Women in Science is hosting its 2nd Annual Alumnae Panel featuring women who deviated from traditional career paths in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math). This year’s featured alumnae are Catherine Brownstein '97, Linh Bui '10, Paula Cobb '94, Sarah Vickery '15 and Crystal Yan '14. Come listen to our panelists, who hail from diverse backgrounds, as they offer insight and advice to those who are considering a STEM-related field as a career!

Stirn Auditorium

Join Tom Davies, Assistant Director of Facilities/Director of Design and Construction, for a tour of the new Greenway Residence Halls site. Meet in the center courtyard by the amphitheater steps for a brief talk noting the sustainability and programmatic features of the design, followed by an outside tour of the buildings and amenities. You can also learn more about the entire Greenway Project on the College website.

Greenway Residence Halls Courtyard

Come by the MRC to grab a snack and learn more about the center!

Multicultural Resource Center, Room 112, Keefe Campus Center

The Amherst Student Networking Reception
Current members of The Amherst Student staff invite all past alumni writers, editors and publishers to a networking reception to discuss their time with The Student, their careers today and how their time at Amherst shaped their path. We will also be celebrating the release of our 2016 Homecoming issue!

Basement of Morrow Residence Hall (enter from Valentine Quad)

Meet the staff of the WGC and learn about our exciting programs and services for women and students interested in feminism. Come by and purchase an AmHERst t-shirt to celebrate 40 years of coeducation!

Women's and Gender Center, Room 103, Keefe Campus Center

Tour the birthplace and home of Emily Dickinson with Jane Wald, Executive Director. Learn more about this fascinating poet and current Museum projects, including the restoration of Dickinson's conservatory, in this special after-hours tour.

Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main Street

The Mead Art Museum welcomes back alumni, Friends of the Mead and all Homecoming participants to a reception in the galleries. Come and experience Mead Reimagined, six new exhibitions including Accumulations: 5,000 Years of Objects, Fictions and Conversations. The exhibitions highlight the Mead's outstanding collections of African, American, European and Russian Art and celebrate the idiosyncratic nature of museum collections in general. Over time, as objects of value and curiosity accumulate in a museum, they enrich our understandings of culture and ourselves. Museum staff will be on hand to answer any questions. Enjoy light refreshments and brief, informal gallery talks. Museum closes at 8 p.m.

View current exhibitions.

Mead Art Museum

Student, faculty, alumni and staff perspectives, including the new Director of the Loeb Career Center*, with a focus on the role of a successful Career Center at a leading small liberal arts residential College. Emphasis on current and future goals for the Center.
 
*Amherst College is honored to share that Marjorie and Michael R. Loeb '77 made a generous seven-figure commitment to name the Career Center. The Loebs have been important supporters of the Career Center's efforts to create dynamic opportunities for Amherst students to envision and prepare for their futures. The Loeb Center for Career Exploration and Planning will play a vital role as the College continues to educate and empower students to achieve their personal, professional and academic goals.

Cole Assembly Room, Converse Hall

Students and Faculty of the Chemistry Department invite alumni to a Homecoming Reception. Please join us for light hors d’oeuvres and conversation.

McCaffrey Room, Keefe Campus Center

On November 2, 1974, the Board of Trustees voted: "Beginning with the academic year 1975-76, Amherst will admit women candidates for the B.A. degree." These few words propelled our College forward and on to a significant number of new paths, including women's athletics. In 1975-76, crew became Amherst's first women's intercollegiate sports program, followed shortly thereafter by field hockey, basketball and squash. Today, Amherst women participate and compete in 14 varsity sports programs, a large number of intramurals and several club sports.  

The Friends of Amherst Athletics invites you to join Michelle Morgan, Professor of Physical Education and Athletics, and six student-athlete alumnae in sharing their memories throughout the forty-year evolution of the women's athletic program. Our conversationalists' years on campus span the entire four decades of women's athletics at Amherst: Helene Rassias-Miles '78, Elizabeth Ryan Walter '80, Andrea Savage '86, Nicole Campbell '00, Morgan Bayer Pohorylo '03, and Jaclyn Daigneault '11.Come hear about the pioneering journey, the many successes achieved and the everlasting memories made. A reception to follow as all invitees walk down memory lane and share their own "I remember whens."

Please pre-register if you plan to attend this event.

Alumni Gymnasium

Join Hillel and Jewish Advisor Rabbi Bruce B. Seltzer for Shabbat services followed by dinner at 6:15 p.m. Learn more about Jewish life on campus.

Center for Humanistic Inquiry, Frost Library

For the third year in a row, The Sabrinas and Route Nine join forces to bring you a performance of inter-a-capella harmony. This year, we intend to celebrate a capella singers of the past and present as we rally around Homecoming and perform a show that celebrates all of our similarities and differences. Please join us!

Performance/Event Space, Greenway A Dormitory

Hear from alumni of all ages about their career paths in health professions, and what they've learned along the way, going back to their Amherst education. This year's focus will be on public health, and will feature the following panelists: Megan Anshutz '01, Andrew Balder '75, Angelo Devita '78, Christina Nieves '10, and Professor Christopher Dole.

O'Connor Commons, Charles Pratt Dormitory

Join Amherst Christian Fellowship for an evening of worship, prayer and fellowship.

Chapin Chapel, Chapin Hall

The Office of Environmental Sustainability and Book & Plow Farm are hosting an evening of inquiry and imbibery. Laura Drauker, Director of Sustainability will talk about how Amherst College is currently supporting local agriculture. Alden D. Booth '83 P'12, owner with Lissa Greenough '83 P'12, of the People's Pint will share their philosophy of local sourcing. Followed by a People's Pint tasting. Local Harmony Springs soda will be available for those under 21.

The Powerhouse

CAB (Campus Activities Board) Bonfire is a renewed tradition to bring the Amherst College community together in celebration of Homecoming Weekend. There will be hot beverages, pizza and cider doughnuts available. Festivities will feature games by Mr. Gad’s House of Improv, performances by several musical groups and t-shirt giveaways. Ends at 10 p.m.

Valentine Quad

Free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations required. Donations to the Food Bank of Western MA encouraged.

Buckley Recital Hall, Arms Music Center

Come hear some of the best Amherst stories from students, faculty, alumni and staff! Snacks, local beer and soft drinks provided.

The Powerhouse

Join E.J. Mills, Head Football Coach, for a closer look at our team.

Conway Classroom, Alumni Gymnasium

Please stop by for registration, schedules of class activities, messages, information on the Amherst area and light refreshments. Alumni House will close at 1:30 p.m.

Alumni House, 75 Churchill Street, (413) 542-2065

There will be no parking on Pratt Field. Vehicles will be permitted access for dropping off supplies at tents. Please see General Information for more details. 

Pratt Field

Alumni and their children are welcome to attend this overview of admission procedures at Amherst, led by Katie Fretwell '81, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid. No registration is required.

Cole Assembly Room, Converse Hall

Join Catherine Epstein, Dean of the Faculty and Winkley Professor of History, for a wide-ranging conversation about Amherst's academic landscape. Dean Epstein will discuss the ways in which the College is shaping the next generation of faculty and the ongoing comprehensive review of the curriculum. The Dean will also address pedagogical innovation and other academic initiatives at Amherst.

Pruyne Lecture Hall, Fayerweather Hall

Mead Art Museum Open
The Mead Art Museum is a world-class art collection of Amherst College with holdings of more than 19,000 objects spanning 5,000 years of global culture.  The works are used for object-based teaching and research across the academic disciplines and available for the pleasure and understanding of a diverse public. Collection highlights appear in regularly changing exhibitions. A bookshop offers museum publications, postcards and more. Admission is free, and the museum is fully accessible. Museum closes at 5 p.m.

View current exhibitions.

Room 203, Chapin Hall

Morgan Room, Pontypool

It's a special time for the Amherst College Rowing Association. During Homecoming Weekend, we'll be reminiscing about the College's first women's intercollegiate sports program (crew) formed forty years ago (see Friday afternoon program), as well as christening a new men's eight shell. Join Bill Stekl, Director of Rowing and Men's Head Coach, and Sandra Bucan, Women's Head Rowing Coach, in the christening of a beautiful new shell which is dedicated to our former rower, Craig C. Reilly '76. Craig is a longtime loyal supporter and continuing friend of Amherst's rowing program. As good fortune would have it, he first welcomed and led a handful of Amherst pioneering women on a purple and white checkered bus to the Amherst College boathouse during the fall of 1975. Coffee, cider and donuts will be served.

Main Quadrangle

Room 201, Chapin Hall

Room 204, Chapin Hall

Room 210, Chapin Hall

Room 101, Chapin Hall

Tour the birthplace and home of Emily Dickinson with Jane Wald, Executive Director. Learn more about this fascinating poet and current Museum projects, including the restoration of Dickinson's conservatory, in this special before-hours tour.

Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main Street

Exploring The American Collection: Two Centuries of Art at Amherst College with Vanja V. Malloy, Ph.D., Curator of American art. Representing over two centuries of American art and artistry, the works on view in these galleries chart the early days in the building of a nation, and a museum.

Mead Art Museum

Beneski Museum of Natural History Open
The Beneski Museum of Natural History houses outstanding collections and exhibits that include vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology, minerals and other geologic specimens. Our specimens have been collected since 1825 from local areas and around the world. Some displays illustrate the evolution and ecology of major groups of animals, and others describe the geological processes that have formed the earth and local structures. Particularly noteworthy is the world-famous dinosaur track collection from the sedimentary rocks of the Connecticut Valley. This collection continues to be the largest fossil track collection in the world and one of the most studied. Museum closes at 5 p.m.

Johnson Chapel

Hall Walls: Artist Rico Gatson inaugurates Hall Walls, an annual project in which Amherst students collaborate with an artist to create an ephemeral artwork on the walls of the museum. 

Mead Art Museum

Exhibition Tour - Precious: Finding the Wondrous in the Mead’s European Art Collection
With Nicola Courtright, William McCall Vickery 1957 Professor of the History of Art. Princes, scholars and merchants alike placed their precious objects and art made of rare materials in small rooms known as cabinets of curiosity, predecessors to the modern museum.

Mead Art Museum

Are you an international alumnus/a? Will you be at Amherst College Homecoming this year? Join us for brunch and an opportunity to meet and network with other international alumni and current international students. There will also be an opportunity for international alumni to share their own stories and advice about life after Amherst: finding a job, going to graduate school and continuing to adapt to life in the United States. This information is extremely valuable for our current international students. If you are interested in participating, please contact Rebecca Counter, International Student Coordinator, at rcounter@amherst.edu.

Friedmann Room, Keefe Campus Center

Have fun at the Mead's second annual paint party! We're inviting the entire Amherst College community to contribute to the creation of a large-scale painting of the museum. Canvas, paints, and brushes provided. Held outdoors in the sculpture courtyard, directly in front of the museum. Last year's canvas on view for all to see!

Mead Art Museum

Many student groups will be at tents and tables on the east end of the Pratt Field, near the pedestrian entrance (Hitchcock Gate). If you are a former member or supporter of one of these organizations, please stop by and say hello!  

• ACEMS
• Amherst College Military Association
• Amherst Crew
• Asian Student Association
• Black Student Union
• GlobeMed
• La Causa
• ProjectSALUD
• Student Health Educators (SHE)

Near Hitchcock Gate, Pratt Field

Room 203, Chapin Hall

Exhibition Tour - Accumulations: 5,000 Years of Objects, Fictions and Conversations
With David E. Little, Ph.D., Director and Chief Curator. This exhibition celebrates the idiosyncratic nature of museum collections. Over time, as objects of value and curiosity accumulate in a museum, they enrich our understandings of culture and ourselves.

Mead Art Museum

Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main Street

Aaron Hayden, the College's Capital Projects Manager, will give a short talk on the history of the steeple, its place on campus in the formative years of the College, and the Howe Chimes that are in its belfry. The church was donated by the son of President William Augustus Stearns to be an important centerpiece on campus and in campus life. The chimes were donated in honor of the members of the Amherst College community who died in the "Great War Between the States." Aaron will play tunes on the chimes that might have been played on them when they were new--as well as some tunes that he just likes.

Neuhoff Sculpture Court, in front of the Mead Art Museum

There will be no parking on Pratt Field. Parking is available on the football practice field (entrance on Route 9), in front of Alumni Gymnasium, in the designated area on Snell Street, along Hitchcock Road and Orchard Street, and in any other designated parking space on campus. See General Information for details on tents and tailgating.

Pratt Field

For over 55 years the Bassett Planetarium has served the College well. This tool has helped countless individuals better understand their place in the universe. Join Alfred Venne, Planetarium Director, as he uses the vintage Spitz A3P Starball to help re-create the night sky over Amherst. In addition, using a classic Orrery, participants will examine the plane of the solar system, the tilt of the Earth, day/night and seasons. The one takeaway from your planetarium visit may be best said by Neil deGrasse Tyson, “We are part of this universe; we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts, is that the universe is in us.”

Bassett Planetarium, Morgan Hall

Come celebrate the events of the day with food, drink and jazz! Games and treats for kids will be provided. This event is sponsored by Alumni and Parent Programs to thank you for your support at Homecoming and throughout the year.

Coolidge Cage, Alumni Gymnasium

Behind the scenes tour with David E. Little, Ph.D., Director and Chief Curator.

Mead Art Museum

Join Fred Venne, Museum Educator, and student docents as they take participants on a journey back in time. The tour of the Beneski explores yesterday and today's Connecticut River Valley, home to Amherst College. Photography is encouraged.

Beneski Museum of Natural History

Welcome back to Amherst and the Queer Resource Center! We invite you to stop by and visit the QRC in our new location in Keefe Campus Center. Take a tour of the Center, learn about the resources and services we provide, meet our amazing student and professional staff, and grab some QRC swag. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

QRC, Room 213, Keefe Campus Center

The Zumbyes are excited to be hosting our annual Homecoming Reception, to which all Zumbye alums, family and friends are cordially invited. Please do come grab some refreshments and meet the Zumbyes of today! There will also be a night reception for those who can't make it to the early one, or just want to spend some more time hanging out and singing with us, happening at 9:30 p.m. in Newport House Basement.

Canfield Lounge, Kirby Auditorium

Join La Causa, Amherst's Latinx affinity group, for our annual Homecoming alumni event. Hear an update on current club and campus happenings, explore the new Greenway space, and mingle with current Latinx students and faculty!

Multipurpose/Event Space, Greenway A Dormitory

The Choral Society, which includes the Women's Chorus, the Glee Club and the Concert Choir, is directed by Mallorie Chernin. Ticket prices are $10 for the general public, $5 for senior citizens and children 12 and under. Tickets are free to Five College Students with ID.

Buckley Recital Hall, Arms Music Center

Join us for s’mores, meet current LGBTQ students at Amherst, and learn about the resources and services the QRC provides.

QRC, Room 213, Keefe Campus Center

The Amherst College Department of Music presents an encore performance of Antonin Dvorak's "New World" Symphony and the Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin (1898-1937). From its opening glissando in the clarinet (improvised as a practical joke during a rehearsal but added to the score at Gershwin's insistence) to its triumphant closing chords, the Rhapsody is a tour de force written by a popular composer whose interests were beginning to turn to the composition of concert music. Commissioned by Paul Whiteman, it was originally scored for jazz ensemble, but is now most often performed in the orchestration by Whiteman pianist and arranger (and composer of The Grand Canyon Suite) Ferde Grofe (1892-1972). It perhaps represents the most famous of a period in "classical" music (the 1920's) when jazz influenced idiom and content of works by composers as diverse as Ravel, Milhaud and Stravinsky.

Former Assistant Director of Instrumental Music (2015-2016) Albert Yu '15 (who performed the Beethoven third concerto and the Ravel G major concerto with the ASO) returns as soloist.

Tickets may be purchased at the door only. Prices are $10 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens, children 12 and under and students with ID; and free for Amherst and Five College students with ID.

For more information on the Amherst Symphony Orchestra, please see http://www.amherstsymphonyorchestra.com.

Buckley Recital Hall, Arms Music Center

All Zumbye alums, family and friends are cordially invited. Come grab some refreshments and meet the Zumbyes of today! See also reception at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Basement Lounge, Newport

Mead Art Museum Open
The Mead Art Museum is a world-class art collection of Amherst College with holdings of more than 19,000 objects spanning 5,000 years of global culture.  The works are used for object-based teaching and research across the academic disciplines and available for the pleasure and understanding of a diverse public. Collection highlights appear in regularly changing exhibitions. A bookshop offers museum publications, postcards and more. Admission is free, and the museum is fully accessible. Museum closes at midnight.

View current exhibitions.

Beneski Museum of Natural History Open
The Beneski Museum of Natural History houses outstanding collections and exhibits that include vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology, minerals and other geologic specimens. Our specimens have been collected since 1825 from local areas and around the world. Some displays illustrate the evolution and ecology of major groups of animals, and others describe the geological processes that have formed the earth and local structures. Particularly noteworthy is the world-famous dinosaur track collection from the sedimentary rocks of the Connecticut Valley. This collection continues to be the largest fossil track collection in the world and one of the most studied. Museum closes at 5 p.m.

Emily Dickinson once wrote of William Shakespeare, "Why need we read anything else but him?"
On this Museum tour, we will explore the Dickinson family houses - the Homestead and the Evergreens - where Shakespeare became an invisible but important guest. Through her close reading of his works, Dickinson engaged Shakespeare in a conversation about poetry that crossed two centuries, one ocean, nationality, and gender - a conversation that helped her to value her own poetic impulses. 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. This program was developed to support the traveling exhibition First Folio! The Book that Gave us Shakespeare from the Folger Shakespeare Library in DC, which travelled to Amherst College in May. This program is free to Amherst College families, but space is limited to 15 people. First come, first served.

Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main Street

Watch current and past players in a friendly pick-up game.

Orr Rink

Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main Street

The DQ is Amherst's co-ed, secular a cappella group. Come join us for a casual, late morning show. Bagels and coffee will be provided. We look forward to connecting with our alumni!

Ballroom, Morris Pratt Dormitory

Since 1993, the Hermenia T. Gardner Bi-Semester African-American Worship Series has offered Christian worship services rooted in the African-American tradition to the Amherst community. Timothy Jones '05, senior pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, NJ, and the Bi-Semester Worship Series Fellow, will be the preacher. The service features the Resurrect Amherst College Gospel Choir, and a soul food reception follows. All are welcome! Questions? Contact Rev. Paul Sorrentino, pvsorrentino@amherst.edu.

Chapin Chapel, Chapin Hall