Every year in May, scores of alumni flock back to campus to reconnect with old friends, share stories and marvel over the university's new or renovated buildings.
According to Alumni Relations Director of Classes and Reunions Katherine Lowe, this year is no exception.
"The idea behind having an Alumni Weekend is to give our alumni the opportunity to come back and connect not only with the Penn of today, but also to reconnect with the Penn of their day," she said.
And from May 14-17, many alumni will be doing just that. As of Wednesday morning, Lowe said 4,000 alumni had registered for Alumni Weekend -- a number that surpasses last year's total of 3,800 at registration closing.
The weekend is slated to feature a variety of annual favorite events -- including a 5K alumni run/walk, a fair and picnic in Hill Square and a parade of graduating classes from Hill Square to College Green.
But according to Lowe, there are also some entirely new aspects to this year's weekend.
For the first time, graduating seniors' parents were invited to Alumni Weekend, and as of Wednesday, over 135 had registered, Lowe said.
Other firsts this year include a golf outing on Friday that has already sold out, and a wine-tasting on Saturday.
The wine-tasting should be "incredibly interesting, because it's being hosted by one of our alumni who's a foremost expert in the wine industry," Lowe explained.
In addition to the extra events this year and usual weekend fare, many alumni are also particularly looking forward to seeing many of Penn's new or renovated facilities.
"Penn has changed tremendously, and folks want to come back and see the Penn of today," Lowe said. "Alumni are coming back to see the amazing accomplishments that you can actually physically see on campus."
Many of Penn's new facilities -- including Weiss Tech House and Hillel's Steinhardt Hall -- will host open houses and events this weekend to allow alumni a glimpse at these new facilities.
This year's Alumni Weekend is a standout, according to Lowe, because it is University President Judith Rodin's last.
"Dr. Rodin is a very, very important part of alumni weekend, and she endeavors to actually visit every single reunion class and be at at least one of their events," Lowe said. "She'll be very, very noticeable in Hill Square as she goes from tent to tent."
