[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading][vc_single_image image=”286″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]As Chapman University prepares for its homecoming weekend, the school’s intent is to welcome as many people as possible onto campus. Known this year as The Chapman Family Homecoming Celebration, the three-day event to be held October 4-6th offers something for everyone.

“The event is a celebratory weekend designed to welcome home alumni as well as invite onto campus parents and friends of Chapman, including anyone in the community who wishes to attend,” says Delite Travis, senior director of strategic engagement and development at Chapman University, who is in charge of the homecoming event. “We’re expecting about 2,000 people on campus.”

Check out the digital program to see what’s in store for The Chapman Family Homecoming Celebration.

Chapman University Toyota of Orange 5K Run/Walk

Highlights of the weekend include a pep rally, various reunions, a chili cook-off, the homecoming football game and the always popular annual Chapman University Toyota of Orange 5K Run/Walk, which is dubbed the “fastest, flattest and funnest 5K in the world.”

Sharon Deacon is chair of the executive board of the Parent Ambassador Council (PAC), and she reports that parents visiting their students have a lot to look forward to this homecoming, such as information sessions and Master Classes.

Free Master Classes

Open to everyone, the Master Classes are given by Chapman faculty and include lectures such as “Singing Nazis: Musical Theatre and the Holocaust,” “Uphill and Upside-down: Thirty Years of the Space Shuttle Program” and “State and Federal Budgets: How Broke Are We?”

Also designed to be entertaining and informative is the Passport program, which is new this year, says Deacon. “On Saturday, everyone will get a passport and receive stamps when they visit various locations of the campus,” she says. “There will also be prizes.”

The chili cook-off is another popular event open to everyone that includes tickets for tasting and bounce houses for the kids, and the Big Band Champagne Brunch tops off the weekend on Sunday.

Barbara Parker and her husband Bill graduated from Chapman many years ago. Barbara got her degree in 1964 and Bill received his in 1952. Both enjoy meeting old friends on homecoming weekends.

Dr. Don Booth Gives His Last Lecture

“It’s so fun to see people you haven’t seen in a while and to be on the campus again,” says Parker. “This homecoming is also going to be an important one, because Dr. Don Booth, who has taught economics for more than 50 years at the school, is going to give his last lecture.”

Erin Patterson is advisor for the Chapman chapter of the sorority Phi Sigma Sigma. She is co-planning a reunion for the sorority to be held during homecoming weekend.

“Ours was the first national sorority founded at Chapman, and we’re excited to celebrate 25 years at the university,” says Patterson. “We’re having about 350 for a sit down dinner, cocktail hour and slide show, and the event is going to be a lot of fun. Chapman is a special place. When you are a student, it’s truly your second home. As an alumnus, I want to share my second home with my family and friends.”

For more information about the Homecoming Celebration, visit chapman.edu/events/homecoming-weekend/index.aspx. Anyone desiring more information about Phi Sigma Sigma’s reunion can email Patterson at erinpatterson@me.com.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]