Nearly 2,000 Colgate University alumni and family members returned to Hamilton, N.Y., for Reunion 2026, May 28–31. Class years from 1961 to 2021 were represented under the tents on Whitnall Field while Delta Delta Delta commemorated its 30th anniversary, the Alumni of Color organization marked its 40th, and Colgate Rugby celebrated its 60th. The weekend also featured traditional gatherings like reunion college presentations, a service of remembrance for members of the Class of 1976, the Alumni Awards Ceremony, and the Torchlight Procession.
Reunion college presentations allowed classmates, friends, and campus community members to share their expertise and insights. Among them, University Landscape Project Manager Katy Jacobs provided guided tours of Peter’s Glen; a panel of ’76 grads talked about the joys of grandparenting; Bailey Graves ’16 taught change management; and Tony Aveni, Russell Colgate Distinguished University Professor of astronomy and anthropology and Native American studies emeritus, gathered former students in the Ho Tung Visualization Lab to look back on 41 J-terms exploring ancient Maya mysteries.
President Brian W. Casey, celebrating 10 years as Colgate’s president, provided an update on the Third-Century Plan and the Campaign for the Third Century during his annual presentation in Memorial Chapel. He gave context to the scope of Colgate’s ambitions, which were on full display as alumni crossed campus and saw evidence of new housing along Broad Street as well as new academic buildings and programming up and down the hill.
“If you find yourself president of Colgate, always ask ‘What’s essential?’” Casey said. “You have to say to yourself, ‘Here is what we are, here is what the world is. How do we address what the world is but do it in an incredibly smart way that deepens the institution?”
1. McKinley Winston ’76 performs a cappella at Bernstein Hall. (top left)
2. Partying under the tents (top right)
3. Class of 2001 dinner (middle)
4. At his class dinner, Bruce Morser ’76 showed these photos from his first-year Incunabulum showing himself (right) and Jim Elrod ’76, “my first Colgate friend.” (bottom)