CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The University of Illinois will mark its 90th annual Homecoming with a weeklong celebration Oct. 8 through 15.
This year’s theme is “Got Illinois?,” a takeoff on the American Dairy Association’s “Got Milk?” advertising campaign.
The week’s activities will include a parade and pep rally as well as a variety show and a pancake breakfast. In addition, colleges across the campus will host pre-game receptions and tent parties to welcome alumni.
For a detailed list of activities, visit the Homecoming Web site at http://www.uiuc.edu/unit/pa/homecoming or call the Student Alumni Association, (217) 333-1471.
Event highlights:
Oct. 8 (Sunday)
5K Homecoming Race; registration begins at 9:30 a.m.; race starts at 10 a.m. at Illini Meadows on South Lincoln Avenue (near the arboretum). Entry fees are $5 if pre-registered and $8 the day of the race. The first 250 registrants will receive T-shirts. Contact: Student Alumni Association.
Quad cinema, “Mission Impossible 2.” The movie will be shown at sundown on the Quad. Contact: Student Alumni Association.
Oct. 10 (Tuesday)
Homecoming Kickoff/Lunch on the Quad. Lunch on the Quad from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch is free for those with dining hall cards; $5 for general public. Homecoming Kickoff from noon to 1 p.m. featuring entertainment and UI athletes. Contact Student Alumni Association.
Oct. 12 (Thursday)
Sand Blast. Sand volleyball tournament with proceeds going to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Location: Division of Campus Recreation sand courts at Stadium Drive and Oak Street. Contact: Student Alumni Association.
Homecoming Block Party, 7 p.m. with food vendors and bands. Location: Parking lot adjacent to Swanlund Administration Building, 601 E. John St. Contact: Student Alumni Association.
Oct. 13 (Friday)
Homecoming parade. Begins at 6 p.m. at Sixth Street and Gregory Drive; proceeds north on Sixth, east on Green Street, then south on Mathews Avenue; ends at the corner of Mathews and Nevada Street. Contact: Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic, (217) 333-3308.
Pep Rally, 7 p.m. on the Quad.
Illini Union Board variety show, 9 p.m., Foellinger Auditorium. Campuswide showcase of student talent in dance, vocals and bands. General admission tickets are $5 and are available in advance at Illini Union Ticket Central (333- 5000) or at the door.
Oct. 14 (Saturday)
Pancake breakfast, 9 to 11 a.m., Alumni Association tent on First Street across from Memorial Stadium. Contact: Student Alumni Association.
Streetfest featuring the Milkmobile; children will be able to get milk mustaches; there also will be strength testing. Corner of Kirby Avenue and First Street.
Illinois vs. Iowa football game, Memorial Stadium. Time to be announced.
“Onyx Renaissance” (African-American comedy show). 4 p.m., Foellinger Auditorium. Tickets are $7 and are available at Illini Union Ticket Central (333- 5000).
African-American Homecoming dance. 8 p.m. to midnight, Illini Rooms, Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St. Tickets are $8.
Oct. 15 (Sunday)
Marching Illini concert, 3 p.m., Assembly Hall. Five distinguished alumni will return to campus as participants in Homecoming weekend. The Illini Comeback guests will meet with students from their colleges, participate in the parade and pep rally, attend the football game, and attend gatherings hosted by Chancellor Michael Aiken and President James J. Stukel.
The Comeback guests:
Scott Anderson, engineering, ’36 (PhD, ’40). After graduating from Illinois, Anderson was physics consultant to APL Engineered Materials Inc. in Urbana. He also owned and operated his own physics laboratory. During World War II, he worked in the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, a division of the Manhattan Project, where he developed a stainless alloy of uranium for use in reactor piles. Anderson was presented with the UI Distinguished Service in Engineering Award in 1982 and the UI Alumni Association Constituent Leadership Award in 1989.
Carol Ross Barney, fine and applied arts, ‘7.1 Barney is founder, president and design principal of Ross, Barney & Jankowski Inc. of Chicago. Her drawings have been widely exhibited and collected by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Historical Society. A winner of numerous honors and awards, Barney also has been a guest lecturer at the university.
Merle L. Gilmore, engineering, ’70. Gilmore is the recipient of five patent awards and a member of the UI President’s Advisory Council. He is executive vice president of Motorola and president of Motorola Communications Enterprise, the business unit that contains all of the company’s communications businesses. Previously, he was president of Motorola’s Europe, Middle East and Africa region, headquartered in London. Gilmore is actively involved in civic and charitable programs that benefit local communities.
Mary Kay Kretch Haben, commerce and business administration, ’77. Haben has been named an outstanding woman achiever by the YWCA and a “Woman to Watch” by Advertising Age magazine. She is executive vice president of Kraft Foods Inc. and president of the Kraft Cheese Division, the company’s largest and most profitable division. She has led most of Kraft’s major brands, including overseeing the expansion of the DiGiorno pizza line, one of its most successful new products.
Dianne Sautter Campbell, education, ’71. Campbell was named one of “100 Women Making a Difference” by Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine in 1997. Campbell taught in the Chicago public schools for five years, helped open Chicago’s first magnet school program and directed a Chicago-based parent/teacher resource center. The founding executive director of the Chicago Children’s Museum, she serves as its president and works with several national and local organizations devoted to children’s activities and welfare.
