The family just got a little larger. Yes, on Saturday, May 12 the Alumni Association welcomed more than 250 new members when the class of 2007 received their diplomas. With their undergraduate and graduate careers now complete, these men and women now will begin jobs, go to graduate school, enter service organizations and begin families. Join me in wishing our newest alumni the very best as they begin this new chapter in their lives.

We still have a few events left in the 2006-2007 alumni calendar. Ohio Valley alumni are invited to a party in the Ratt on Wednesday, May 23. The fun begins at 6 p.m. There will be plenty of food for everyone. If you haven't seen the remodeled Ratt, this is your chance! If you plan to join us for great food, conversation, music and fellowship, please contact the Alumni Office at 1-800-888-2586 or alumni@wju.edu. And, if you have a favorite song, bring that along to share with everyone!

Alumni Weekend 2007, the final event of the year, is just weeks away. We are looking forward to seeing members of the anniversary classes June 22-24. It's not too late to take advantage of the early bird package rates. Make your reservation by June 15 and savc!

A highlight of the Weekend will be the presentation of several award to our alumni. The Alumni Association and the University look forward to recognizing our Lewis, Distinguished, GOLD and Magis award winners throughout the weekend.

On Friday, I hope you will join us as we pay tribute to Chris '96 and Alison (Fry) Kreger '98, who will receive the GOLD Award and all our of service organization volunteers who will be honored with the Lewis Award. On Saturday night, we have a three Distinguished Alumni Awards to hand out. Mark Geary '62, Jim and J'ann (Schoonmaker)Allen '67 and George “Ged” Young '72 will be given their awards during the President's Dinner. Also, Mike Scannapieco '77 will be given the Magis Award posthumously.

Don't forget, you can send in news, update your record, nominate classmates for awards or apply for a WJU credit card by logging onto the Wheeling Jesuit Web site.