WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. Sept. 22, 2022 — West Liberty University’s Homecoming 2022 includes exciting new events for alumni to enjoy.
Director of Alumni Affairs Amanda Bennet is coordinating the Alumni Wall of Honor Induction Breakfast, and the first Alumni Family Fest, another new event for alumni and their families to enjoy.
“So much has changed over the years, and after seeing how much has changed just since I joined campus in March, I want other alumni to see that. Engagement is huge, it is important to come back and engage and get in touch with your roots,” Bennett said. Bennett graduated from WLU herself in 2013 and went on to earn an MBA, also at WLU, in 2018.
On Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, Homecoming festivities kick off with the Wall of Honor Induction Breakfast from 9 – 10 a.m. hosted in the Alumni Room on the third floor of the Paul L. Elbin Library.
This festive breakfast will honor five high-achieving alumni from different professional fields, including: Winifred Breegle ’43, Dawn Ann Dean ’84, Alex E. Paris ’82, Charles “Charley” Richards ’77 and Nick Sparachane ’75.
There also will be a new Alumni Family Fest, which will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. behind the Fine Arts Building. The Alumni Family Fest will have food trucks, an eating area, inflatables, and live music by “Eli and the Mojo Kings,” Eli Lambie is an alumnus and heads up this band that is very popular in the region.
“Higher education is currently facing a critical time. Multiple threats, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic are helping to shape the future of higher ed. WLU is not immune to these threats and alumni engagement has never been as critical as it is now. We feel WLU must shift the way it engages in a manner that meets its alumni where they are and our Alumni Family Fest is a symbol of an effort that focuses on engaging our younger alumni base,” said Jason Koegler, vice president of External Affairs.
Some departments on campus will take part in the Alumni Family Fest. The WLU Center for Arts and Education and its students provide activities for kids, the WLU Zoo Science professors and students will be on hand with animals and the WLU College of Liberal and Creative Arts faculty and students will be displaying and selling their art.
The Alumni Family Fest is open to the public.
“As a student and now as a member of WLU’s staff, I believe that there is no other word that better describes our Hilltop than “family.” Our Alumni Family Fest speaks to this by name but also is a symbol of a new era in our alumni engagement and serves as a signal to our 25,000+ alumni base that more dynamic engagement opportunities are on the horizon,” Bennett said.
Tailgating opens for alumni at 8 a.m. in lots A and B, behind the ASRC, and ends one hour after the end of the football game.
The Student Government Association will start the traditional Homecoming Parade at 10:15 a.m. The Hilltopper Football team takes on nearby Wheeling University with a 1 p.m. kick-off and offers many more festivities, including the announcement of WLU’s Homecoming King and Queen.
The WLU Foundation too offers a special event for Homecoming 2022, its annual Recognition Banquet, that will take place on Friday, Oct. 21. This ticketed special event honors John P. McCullough Society, Nathan Shotwell Society, President’s Circle, and the 2022 Impact of Philanthropy Award recipients. The WLU Foundation Recognition Banquet begins with a 6 p.m. cocktail hour in College Union.
For more information on Homecoming 2022 at West Liberty University, please click: westliberty.edu/alumni/event/2022-homecoming.
For tickets to the WLU Foundation Recognition Banquet, please call the WLU Foundation office at 304.336.5635.