This year marks CALS’ 125th anniversary, a milestone known as a “quasquicentennial.” One hundred and twenty-five is a proud age to reach. And we invite you, as alumni, to come celebrate.

Most of our events this year will have a “quasqui” flavor as we offer tributes to historic moments, glimpses of our exciting future, and a special commemorative ice cream developed at Babcock Hall. Of particular interest to alumni this spring are Science Expeditions (April 4–6), where families can enjoy hands-on learning with CALS researchers; the CALS Undergraduate Research Symposium (April 22) showcasing work by our budding scientists; and on April 24, a dedication ceremony for the new Hector F. DeLuca Biochemical Sciences Complex.

Within CALS, our departments of soil sciences and horticulture are celebrating their own 125ths with festivities on May 23 and June 19, respectively.

“We invite you, as alumni, to come celebrate.”

And not to be missed: a 125th celebration barn dance on June 28 at the family farm of Susan Crane, chair of the CALS Board of Visitors. All proceeds from the event, including a silent auction, will go to enhancing the student experience and growing the CALS Annual Fund, which allocates support to students and programs that need it most. You can learn more about this and other festivities at the website cals.wisc.edu/125th.

We see this year as an opportunity not only to toast our many achievements but also to help our alumni and friends more actively engage with CALS. As part of our strategic planning process we have formed an alumni engagement working group headed by assistant dean Heidi Zoerb.

Simply put, the goal of this group, which includes alumni, board members, faculty and staff, is to learn more about our graduates. What elements of your CALS connection do you find the most exciting and fulfilling? Many of you are involved with the Wisconsin Agricultural and Life Sciences Alumni Association (WALSAA), a hardworking volunteer group that supports the college through a number of important and very popular activities. But we believe that, across our campus, we could and should be doing more to strengthen your CALS connection, especially since our graduating classes keep getting bigger. What can we do to help keep you close, to make you feel like part of the CALS family? Many of you participated in a survey the group recently sent out asking for your suggestions.We still very much welcome your comments at alumni@cals.wisc.edu.

Our 125th anniversary is your celebration. And we want to ensure that your celebration of CALS continues when the year is over. With your engagement, we can keep our college strong. I am certain that when we read about our latest, greatest achievements in the year 2039—our sesquicentennial!—they will be every bit as impressive as those we look back on today.

This article was posted in Communities, In Vivo, Spring 2014 and tagged 125th anniversary, Babcock Hall, CALS, Grow Spring 2014, In Vivo, Kate VandenBosch, WALSAA.