This Week in Vanderbilt History

This Week
In Vanderbilt History ...

The 1962 Reunion Weekend, held May 31June 3, marked the advent of a new tradition: the alumni seminars. John Beasley Jr., then-executive secretary of the Alumni Association, and the faculty advisory committee planned four seminars for the weekend in order to engage the alumni in discussions of current events, led by experts in the field. The topics of the 1962 seminars included advancements in astronomy, communism and Russia's threat to the U.S. economy, changing trends in Latin America, and the development of the European Common Market. A panel of Vanderbilt faculty members and leading businessmen moderated the discussion in each seminar. The seminars, now called "Back to the Classroom," continue to be a part of the Vanderbilt Reunion Weekend.

Source: Vanderbilt Alumnus, MayJune 1962
-- Alyson Fant