Senior Reunion Format and Schedule

The 55th - 70th reunions usually occur during Commencement Week with Commencement Day being the last event of the festivities. Some reunion groups are beginning to break from tradition and are beginning to look at a weekend in the fall as an attractive alternative. A reunion is a combination of social and intellectual events. Free time should be included in the schedule for classmates to meet informally.

On Thursday, classmates can participate in the HAA annual Tree Spread luncheon and the annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association that same afternoon. You should consider beginning by scheduling a low-key opening event on the first evening of your reunion program for those classmates who wish to arrive early or live nearby. Following that, the entire reunion schedule is flexible and usually reaches a crescendo during the second or third evening (depending on how many days you decide to celebrate).

Because of travel uncertainties, the first evening social event is usually an open-ended buffet lasting a few hours, rather than a sit-down dinner at a set time. This gives classmates time to meet and talk informally.

The daily schedules could include a morning class meeting and/or symposium. Lunch can be a picnic followed by other activities such as tours or more seminars. You might even consider holding a picnic/field day at a non-Harvard location — a classmate's private home on the North or South shore, for example.

The evenings are a time when classes can have dinner at either on-campus or off-campus sites, usually followed by entertainment and dancing.

Your reunion offers considerable room for flexibility and a variety of events and depends heavily on the number of days the reunion committee sets aside to celebrate and the energy and willingness of the committee to do the work. There are samples of a variety of schedules in the Sample Mailing section of this notebook.