Albion College to Celebrate Homecoming Weekend

The Oct. 22-23 weekend will feature Hall of Fame Dinner, Alumni Award Ceremony and the rollout of plans for new Alumni Unity Hall.

October 20, 2021

Students cheer on the football team at Homecoming 2019.

Among other events, the weekend will see the Albion College football team take on Olivet College at a home game.

Albion College, one of the top 50 innovative liberal arts colleges in the country, will welcome alumni, students and community members to campus for homecoming festivities Oct. 22-23, 2021. Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Marc Newman made the announcement.

“Homecoming weekend is an exciting tradition where we have the opportunity to reconnect with old classmates and colleagues, celebrate our College’s history and fully embrace our core values of purpose, belonging and action,” said Newman. “We are looking to enhance our overall alumni experience, as demonstrated in our plans for the new Alumni Unity Hall, which will serve as a bridge between current students, Albion alumni and the community.” 

On Friday, Oct. 22 at 5:30 p.m., 10 individuals and one team will be inducted into the Albion College Athletic Hall of Fame at the annual Hall of Fame Dinner, joining over 350 other individuals. This year’s class includes Denise Heinze, ’78 (softball), Randy Smith, ’73 (wrestling), Ty Lattimore, ’10 (swim and dive), Chris Stefanes, ’03 (track and field, football), Jerry Krueger, ’06 (track and field), Dominic Reid, ’04 (track and field), Dave Marcinkowski. ’92 (basketball), Dwayne Johnson, ’86 (basketball), Jason Ryan, ’05 (tennis), Theresa Kolly McArleton, ’03 (soccer), and the 2004 Men’s Track and Field team. The event will also be livestreamed on Albion College’s YouTube starting at 7:15 p.m. 

On Saturday, Oct. 23 at 10 a.m., the College will announce plans for Alumni Unity Hall, a redevelopment of the former St. John’s Parish into a hub for student and alumni networking, career services, multi-cultural events and performance space. Aside from fortifying relationships between alumni, current students and the Albion community, the project will also preserve the church building, an important element of local history.

The weekend will feature several home games for the Britons. At 7 p.m. on Friday, women’s volleyball will take on Oberlin College. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, Albion College football will face off against Olivet College and at 4:30 p.m., men’s soccer will be up against Trine University.

Later that evening, the College will host the Alumni Award Ceremony, recognizing recipients of the James L. Curtis Alumni Leadership Award, Distinguished Alumni Award and Young Alumni Award for 2020 and 2021. A cocktail hour will begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner following at 6:30 p.m. The ceremony will recognize James L. Curtis Alumni Leadership Award recipients Dr. Darrell Williams, ’77 and Dr. Coletta Thomas, ’76; Distinguished Alumni Award recipients Dr. Deanna Behring, ’85, Dr. Kevin Chalut, ’99, Dr. Bonciel Griffin-Burress, ’97, Craig Kirby, ’85, Kent Beittel, ’69, Dr. Matthew Heinz, ’99, Caryn Ryan, ’79, and Dr. Richard Youle, ’74; and Young Alumni Award recipients Christopher Blaker, ’14, Soe Yu Nwe, ’13, Shea Gardner, ’12, and Rhiki Swinton, ’16. This event will also be livestreamed on Albion College’s YouTube, starting at 6:30 p.m.

For a complete list of Albion College Homecoming events, visit albion.edu/homecoming.

About Albion College

Albion College is a private liberal arts college of approximately 1,500 students and is nationally recognized for its academic excellence in the liberal arts tradition, a learning-centered commitment, and a future-oriented perspective. The College is a leader in preparing students to anticipate, solve and prevent problems in order to improve the human and global condition. Albion immerses students in the creation and processing of knowledge and graduates skilled architects of societal change, active citizens, and future leaders. The College is dedicated to the highest quality in undergraduate education and is committed to diversity as a core institutional value.

Albion, Michigan is a culturally diverse community in the south-central part of the state. The College recognizes the value of community, both on- and off-campus, and has invested resources in supporting the revitalization of the greater Albion community. This work offers an increasingly vibrant city around the campus that provides students with a fuller experience as they prepare to become engaged citizens in their own communities. For more information, visit albion.edu.