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Centennial Update November/December 2002

Centennial 5K event scheduled for April

It’s time to get in shape for the Centennial Campus-to-Campus 5K Road Race on Sunday, April 27. The event will be open to the public and will include running and health walk divisions.

“We wanted to plan an event in which students, faculty, staff, families and our alumni could participate. The linking of our two campuses was a perfect fit for our Centennial year,” said Denna Stachelek, Women’s Lacrosse coach and 5K-committee member. “This unique 5K will be more than just a fitness event, it will be a fun day for the entire community.”

WestConn will have live music and water stations along the 3.1 mile course. All pre-registered participants will receive a commemorative race T-shirt, goodie bag, continental breakfast and complimentary massage at the finish. Prizes will be awarded to the top male and female finishers, top WestConn employee male and female finishers, top WestConn student male and female finishers, top alumni male and female finishers, top corporate team finishers and a 65+ division. In addition, a special prize will be awarded for the “most creative use of WestConn colors” in the event.

The race course will start on the Westside campus on University Boulevard. The route will move onto Lake Avenue, West Street, Liberty Street, Patriot Drive and end on White Street in front of the university parking garage.

Shuttle buses will transport participants back to the start line on the Westside campus after the event. The course is certified and will be professionally timed. Registration for the event is $15 in advance and $18 after the Friday, April 18, 2003, deadline. Participation for WestConn students is free. Proceeds will benefit WestConn wellness programs for students.

For more information, to volunteer on race day, or obtain event registration forms, contact Mary Figueroa in the Office of Public Relations/Centennial Office at (203) 837-8832.

Local company supports Centennial activities

Richard Gerber (R) WestConn Vice President for Institutional Advancement, discusses the university’s new endowment fund with Robert J. Reby (L), founder of the Danbury-based Robert J. Reby & Company, Inc. Reby’s wealth management firm donated $25,000 in support of WestConn’s $5 million Centennial Capital Campaign. In addition, the company donated $7,500 in radio advertising on WLAD for Centennial-related activities and student recruitment.

Citywide birthday party planned for March

The Centennial Committee, in conjunction with the Danbury Chamber of Commerce, will celebrate WestConn’s 100th anniversary with a citywide birthday party on Monday, March 3. This event will honor local businesses that employ WestConn graduates as well as businesses that provide internships to further prepare WestConn students for the business world. These companies will receive a free birthday cake and commemorative Centennial pins. The university also will celebrate with its own cake for students and employees. WestConn employs almost three hundred of it’s own alumni.

WestConn is working closely with the Danbury Chamber of Commerce to identify local companies for solicitation. If you know of a business that may be interested in participating in this Centennial event, contact Mary Figueroa at (203) 837-8832 or email figueroam@wcsu.edu.

Night at the Theatre a success!

More than one hundred members of the WestConn community attended the “Centennial Night at the Theatre” on November 7.

Sponsored annually by the Office of Public Relations, guests were treated to dinner, door prizes, live music by the WestConn Jazz Club and tickets to the CTA production, “Meet Me in St. Louis.”
Thanks to all who attended!

Spotlight on a Centennial Committee member

Dr. James Pegolotti, emeritus faculty

Describe your feelings during the Centennial Kick-Off Celebration on Sept. 14.
My first feeling was that of relief—that the weather provided a pleasant day. On campus, the hundreds of alumni, first-time visitors, and WestConn friends all seemed to be wandering about with big smiles on their faces. Over their heads, one could imagine a cartoonist’s balloon filled with hundreds of question marks, a manifestation of their wonderment at the transformation of the campus in recent years.

As a member of the Centennial Award for Excellence Selection Committee, what impressed you most about the nominees?
Some years ago, I am told, WestConn was referred to as “White Street U.” Well, the several hundred nominees of alumni certainly wiped away the provincial allusion of such a name. Here were men and women who changed lives of people throughout the world, be they as dean of the department of education at Stanford University or as the first African-American woman to graduate with a music degree from WestConn on her way to 41 years of teaching throughout Connecticut. The nominees—and they were but a snapshot of all alumni—proved that “White Street U” has done its work well.

When WestConn celebrates its 200th anniversary, what should their committee see when they open the Centennial Timecapsule?
A copy of “The Echo,” a sampling of student records of graduates (with names removed) indicating the courses taken at WCSU; first-person statements from a variety of faculty and administrators as to why they prefer to stay at WCSU rather than go elsewhere.

Don’t miss these upcoming events!

The Kick-Off Celebration on Sept. 14 was just the start of a yearlong calendar of events to commemorate the Centennial.

March 3
Citywide Birthday Celebration

April 27
Campus-to-Campus 5K Run/Walk
$15 registration fee
T-shirts, prizes, live music

May 3
Centennial Ball

For more information, call the Office of Public Relations/Centennial Office at (203) 837-8486.

Centennial Steering Committee Members