On May 13, the Purdue Ag Alumni Association and the College of Agriculture hosted a reception for the college’s spring semester graduates and their families. More than 800 people attended the reception at Ross-Ade Pavilion.

The reception was moved to Ross-Ade Pavilion from the Memorial Union ballrooms last year, and Donya Lester, executive secretary of the Ag Alumni Association, says the response from the new graduates was overwhelming. “We moved because of a scheduling conflict in the ballrooms, but we couldn’t have asked for a better location than the football stadium’s suite levels,” she says. “Our graduates and their families enjoy the panoramic view of the campus from the suites, and they especially enjoy the cap and gown photos they can snap with the Ross-Ade field and Mackey Arena as their backdrop.”

In 2005, the college’s commencement reception was redesigned as a full-blown celebration serving a light lunch buffet.

The new event’s costs are funded mostly by the dues-sharing revenue that the Ag Alumni Association receives from the Purdue Alumni Association. “We get $2 per year for every ag graduate who is a member of PAA,” Lester says. “And we have dedicated every dollar of that revenue to supporting these receptions. The dean’s office helps with any additional costs, but the dues revenue pays the lion’s share. This partnership with PAA has provided important funding for us to add real value to our ag students’ commencement day experience.”

The reception has a brief program to recognize the outstanding seniors selected by each department and those honored with collegewide awards. Departments set up tabletop exhibits where they distribute commencement gift bags to their grads.

But the real appeal to families is the opportunity to visit with faculty and staff who have been an important part of their students’ college experience. “We felt like today that we were part of a family we didn’t even know we had,” one graduate’s father said after last spring’s reception.
For more information about becoming a member of PAA and supporting this important program, call PAA at (800) 414-1541 or enroll online at www.purduealum.org/enrollonline.