RPI Reunion Festivities Planned For April 27-29

By Tom Gresham

Richmond Professional Institute, the precursor to Virginia Commonwealth University, will hold its second annual reunion during the weekend of April 27-29 on the VCU campus.

Some of RPI's approximately 8,000 alumni will visit VCU for three days of campus tours, parties and special events. Highlights of the weekend include a 90th birthday party for the School of Social Work, the induction of the Class of 1957 into the 50 Year Golden Circle Alumni Club and the dedication of a new sculpture on campus that will commemorate RPI as the foundation for VCU.

Registration for the RPI Reunion begins Friday, April 27, at 11 a.m. Building visits and tours on campus will run during the afternoon with a welcome reception scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Jefferson Hotel.

Events on Saturday include "Stone-Age RPI vs. Modern-Day VCU," a panel discussion among current students, RPI alumni and previous and present faculty comparing life at RPI with life at VCU. A concert on Shafer Court celebrating the School of Social Work's birthday and the dedication of the RPI sculpture at "the wall" on Shafer Street are among the afternoon's main events. The RPI Alumni Dinner at 7 p.m. will feature music performed by the cast of Theatre VCU's production of "Smokey Joe's Café," the revue of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's immortal songs from the 1950s and 1960s.

Sunday closes with a farewell brunch and memorial tribute.

For more information and a complete list of RPI Reunion events, visit www.vcu-mcvalumni.org or contact the VCU Alumni Association at (804) 828-2586.