For Immediate Release — May 26, 2006

SUNY Geneseo to Hold 50^th Reunion, Honor Alumna

GENESEO, N.Y. — The State University of New York at Geneseo invites graduates of the college's Class of 1956 to join classmates for a 50^th anniversary reunion, to be held in Geneseo. The reunion will run from the afternoon of Thursday, June 8, through Friday, June 9. Members of the milestone-anniversary classes of '51, '46, '41, '36, '31 and '26 are invited to join the reunion on Friday, which will include an award presentation to Ruth Hawley Gibson '56 of Perry, N.Y.

The reunion will begin on the afternoon of Thursday, June 8, with a tour of Roemer Arboretum, led by Associate Professor of Biology Gregg Hartvigsen. A cocktail hour and gourmet dinner at the Big Tree Inn will be followed by a dessert reception at McClellan House. This historic building houses the Irma Hamer Collins '42 Alumni Center and the Lockhart Gallery, where members of the reunion class will be treated to a lavish array of desserts and music by the Geneseo String Band.

The celebration, which will continue on the college campus on Friday, June 9, will include campus tours and informal class gatherings. The reunion will culminate with a champagne reception and 50-Year Club luncheon in the Mary Jemison dining center. A highlight of the luncheon will be the presentation of the Geneseo Alumni Association (GAA) Society of Old Main Award to Ruth Hawley Gibson '56.

A member of the Geneseo Alumni Association Board of Directors since 1965, Gibson was GAA president from 1968-70 and has been its secretary for more than 25 years. She retired in 1992 as a reading specialist at Perry Central School, where she was also the advisor to dramatics and AFS clubs. Gibson remains active in the community as a member of the Board of Directors for Project Read, Literacy Volunteers of America, Wyoming County Arts Council, Delta Kappa Gamma Society International and Rotary International. Her service to her college and her community has previously been recognized with a Geneseo Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award in 1991, a Geneseo Foundation Meritorious Service Award in 2004, and she was named a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow in 2002. Gibson and classmate Donna Lawton Kerr '56 of Westerville, Ohio, are currently serving as co-chairs of their class's 50^th anniversary fund.

Advance registration for the reunion is required. For more information or to register, contact the SUNY Geneseo Alumni and Parent Relations Office at (585) 245-5506 or alumni@geneseo.edu.

###