Happy to Be Back on Campus!
Alumni Weekend 2024 welcomed nearly 200 alumni and their families and friends back to campus on April 26–27. The event celebrated the pioneering classes of 1973, 1974, and 1975 and the anniversary of class years 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014, and 2019.
The weekend started with a reception honoring alumni who now work at Purchase, attended by 25 faculty and staff members.
At the annual crowd favorite, the Night of Reunions party at the Neuberger Museum of Art, DJ Eric Burgos ’10 (Sociology) provided the entertainment and the Purchase College Alumni Association (PCAA) presented the Alumni Awards, recognizing nine individuals across six award categories.
Alumni Awards
#ProofofPurchase Alumni Achievement Award
Kristopher Graves ‘04 (Photography)
(Read our feature about Kris Graves here.)
The Young Alumni Award
Amanda (Santiago) Poise ‘21 (Theatre and Performance)
Outstanding Commitment to the Arts Award*
Karen Sillas ‘85 (Acting) and Ivan Menchell ‘83 (Drama Studies)
Outstanding Commitment to the Liberal Arts and Sciences Award*
Heather Ostman ’92 (Literature)
Resiliency Award*
Colton (Gibbons) Nguyen ‘18 (History)
Golden Brick
Lee Ehrman, Peter Schwab, and Renneth Sorhaindo
Read more about all awardees.
*New awards this year.
More Highlights
On Saturday, the Purchase Perspectives Keynote Panel, moderated by Jeffrey Putman ’96 (Political Science), brought together alumni and faculty from across the decades to reflect on a half-century of fond memories. PCAA President Stephanie Blum ’13 (Arts Management) presented the Golden Brick Honorary Alumni Awards for 2024 to three retired faculty members: Lee Ehrman, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Biology (Retired 2020); Peter Schwab, Professor Emeritus of Political Science (Retired 2021); and Renneth Sorhaindo, Associate Professor Emeritus of Language and Culture (Spanish). The recipients addressed the crowd via video.
Additional events included the annual picnic on the Great Lawn, a sound meditation in the Neuberger’s Theatre Gallery with Cleve Gray’s Threnody as the backdrop, a film screening featuring work by the Class of 2023 hosted by the School of Film and Media Studies, and a Meet-and-Greet with alumni board members.
Alumni were also invited to attend events happening on campus, including the TKth Annual Natural and Social Sciences Symposium, the Humanities Symposium, the Visual Arts MFA exhibition Pressing Matters, and performances by the Conservatory of Theatre Arts, the Purchase Jazz Orchestra, and the Conservatory of Dance.
For the first time ever, alumni were invited to attend Culture Shock, which overlapped with Alumni Weekend.
