2019 Reunion

November 8, 2018
Dearly Beloved,

The first microwave oven I ever saw was in the second-floor lunch room of what was then called the Multi-Cat Building. Dr (Mr.) Houpt was there showing someone around. “It’s a microwave oven, a microwave oven” he exclaimed. Wow. This was Fall, 1975. We had 4 years of vet school in front of us. Careers that now span 40 years began germinating that year. In that same room, over in a corner, students had mailboxes. My first JAVMA Journals were delivered there. The room pretty much always smelled like popcorn, mixed with some research solvent.
The Multi-Cat Building is still there. Now it’s called the Veterinary Research Tower (I think). Last year it got a whole new exterior shell. This was part of a huge reboot of the veterinary campus. It was 3 years in the making and completed this year. There’s no more James Law Auditorium. The new Flower Veterinary Library occupies its place. “Our” vet school is slowly disappearing. There are still some terrazzo floors and glazed brick hallways, but their days are numbered. Somewhat sad. Even so, the “new and improved” vet school is a thing to see. A temple to veterinary learning.
This June we celebrate a reunion. It’s June 6-9, 2019. As always, it’s not just the Veterinary College having reunions, its all of Cornell. That means it’s best to book housing NOW. Hotel, Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO NOW, or some campground later. There will be more info to follow. We will have a class dinner Saturday night. I believe there will be a BBQ Friday evening. Fun, fun, fun. I’m trying to book a bouncy castle so pack soft footwear.
Lastly, I would be remiss to not bring up the every 5-year Dean’s Cup Challenge. The class of 1979 has won the Dean’s Cup three times over two different Deanships. Now there’s a new Dean and I believe his Cup belongs to us too. The Dean’s Cup is awarded to the reunion year class with the highest percentage of giving during that year. For us, this means to be counted you need to make a gift (of ANY amount) between June 2018 and June 2019. While large donations are welcome, any gift will help us to reach our goal. Our goal is to win the cup and humiliate all the other reunion classes. This is what we do. See you in June. Find a place to stay now- it’s easier to cancel than last minute scramble.
Namaste,