Brazen Blazers, Bagpipes, Hot Air Balloon

 2,700 U.VA. ALUMNI TO WITNESS HYPNOTIC EVENT 
DURING NEW REUNION CONCEPT JUNE 6-8

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., May 31 -- Bedecked in orange and blue,
University of Virginia alumni will return to Grounds June 6-8 to
participate in an approach to reunions rarely seen at state schools. 
	The U.Va. Alumni Association has packaged the events in a
comprehensive Reunion Weekend similar to reunions staged by such Ivy
League schools as Harvard and Yale.
	"The three-day reunion weekend does not exist at state
schools," said Wayne Cozart, Alumni Association associate director.
"We are redefining how state universities hold reunions."
Approximately 2,700 alumni from the classes of 1952, '57, '62, '67,
'72, '77, '82, '87 and '92, will participate in more than 30 events
that will allow them to renew old friendships, relive fond memories
and keep abreast of University developments. Modelled after the Ivy
League schools' reunions, the weekend will offer a broad spectrum of
events, in both large and small settings, designed to build class
loyalty and increase the number of alumni who return for reunions.
	Although U.Va. has an 18 percent alumni return rate -- the
average among state higher education institutions is 10 percent -- the
Alumni Association hopes to increase its percentage of alumni who
return for reunions to about 35 percent, a rate equal that of the Ivy
League schools. Alumni officials have established a 28 percent
return-rate goal by 2000. 
	The new approach to reunion planning reflects the commitment
of U.Va. President John T. Casteen III to build a strong reunion
program in the spring -- an idea he described in an alumni caucus six
years ago.  As a result, U.Va.'s Alumni Association reformatted its
mixture of fall reunions into a large joint spring reunion five years
ago.
 	Next weekend's events represent a wide, colorful assortment of
unusual activities, with many first-time events, including:
	¥ Wearing orange, blue and white blazers and straw hats,
the 1952 class will walk down the Lawn, escorted by a nine-piece
bagpipe group. Each reunion class will wear distinct garb or carry
something memorable. Weather-permitting, the class procession will
begin at 9:10 a.m. on Saturday, June 7.  (Rain cancels.)
	¥ Casteen will reconfer degrees to 1952 class members who
missed their graduation because of the Korean conflict.  He will also
provide an update on the University. Casteen's remarks will begin at
9:30 a.m. on the Lawn.  (Rain site:  University Hall.)
	¥ Tom DeLuca, a popular hypnotist on the college circuit,
will give his first performance for an alumni group. DeLuca, who has
been performing at U.Va. since 1977, will ask the alumni he hypnotizes
to recreate some of their memorable undergraduate experiences.
Weather permitting, DeLuca's performance will be on Saturday, June 7,
from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. in the Amphitheater.
	¥ Former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove will describe her
life as a poet.  Her presentation will be held from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m.
in the Rotunda's Dome Room on Saturday, June 7.
	¥  U.Va. sororities will host their first joint reception.
	¥ Residents of U.Va.'s first residential college will hold
their first 10-year reunion.  Reunions will also be held for alumni
who resided in the French, German, Spanish and Mexican houses.
 	"The alumni program's success really comes from the first-year
experience at U.Va. Undergraduates find their identities and build
life long friendships by participating in small-group activities,"
Cozart said. 
	Consequently, the Reunion Weekend includes many opportunities
for alumni to relive such experiences. Among such events are
get-togethers for Echols and Jefferson scholars, Madison House
volunteers and Cavalier Daily alumni.
	U.Va. officials know that successful reunion weekends can
increase alumni's financial support. At last year's reunion weekend,
alumni gave the University five checks totalling $2.8 million. At the
conclusion of Saturday's Lawn procession, nine checks are expected to
be presented to President Casteen.
	"Reunion-giving can be a major engine of an annual-giving
program," Cozart said.
	Weather permitting on Saturday evening, alumni can gain a
memorable view of Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda by riding in a hot air
balloon that will be tethered in Madison Bowl. "We are staging a
phenomenon not seen at state universities," Cozart said. 
###
May 30, 1997
	FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Wayne Cozart at (804) 984-9242.
For a Reunion Weekend schedule, call U.Va. News Services at (804)
924-6857.  Television reporters should call our TV News Office at
(804) 924-7550.