Alumni Weekend 2010 Had Something for Everyone

More than 600 Emersonians and their guests were treated to a sunshine-filled weekend of soccer with cherished faculty member Pete Chvany, karaoke madness until 1:00 am in Emerson’s Black Box Theatre, and a lively boat cruise around Boston Harbor, to name just a few activities that took place during Emerson’s Alumni Weekend 2010 June 4–6.

The weekend was wildly successful, according to Director of Alumni Relations Barbara Rutberg. “Alumni from as recent as 2009 to as far back as the Class of 1940 all celebrated together,” she said. “I think everyone was impressed with what they saw and heard about Emerson and the way the College has grown, yet stayed true to its roots.”

Alumni Weekend attendees partied till the wee hours of the morning all weekend long; however, Rutberg said the person who partied the hardest was Evelyn Bergman Shatkin ’40, who was celebrating her 70th reunion.

The entire Emerson community of alumni, faculty, students, and friends honored four distinguished alumni at the Reunion Party and Auction on June 5. This year’s award recipients were actress Judyann Johnson Elder ’67, Hewlett Packard CMO Michael Mendenhall ’84, and Granite State Independent Living CEO Clyde Terry ’74. Journalist Brendan McCarthy ’04 received the Young Alumni Achievement Award.

More than $50,000 was raised at the auction, whose proceeds will go to the Alumni Association scholarship fund, which will fund two scholarships this year — one for an undergraduate and the other for a graduate student.

Also during the weekend’s events, alumni Howard Liberman ’68, Elroy Smith ’81, and, posthumously, Ted Phillips ’77 were inducted into the WERS 88.9 FM Hall of Fame.

At the 75th anniversary celebration for the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, faculty members Anthony Bashir, David Luterman, and David Maxwell were recognized for their contributions to the department.

The weekend ended with a poignant screening of Visual and Media Arts Associate Professor Lauren Shaw’s documentary A Drop in the Bucket, which focused on her involvement with the clean water crisis in Cambodia.