Rally kicks off historic Homecoming week

Cheerleaders stir up some Greyhound spirit earlier today during the Homecoming 2015 pep rally in the Schwitzer Student Center dining room.

Events to include football, fun, campaign launch, dedication ceremonies

Homecoming Week 2015 launched in full force today, kicking off a historic series of events that will include the public launch of the university’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, the dedication and ribbon cutting for the new UIndy Health Pavilion, the re-dedication of the renovated Krannert Memorial Library and naming ceremonies for the Shaheen College of Arts & Sciences and the Strain Honors College.

There’s also a football game Saturday night, by the way, the focal point of a full day of fun and family-friendly events around campus.

The activity got underway today with a lunchtime pep rally featuring the Greyhound cheerleaders, the Crimsonettes dance team and introductions of this year’s Homecoming Court: Nicole Geoffrion, a senior Communication and Experience Design major from Acton, Mass.; Roshanne Smith, a senior Business Education major from Nassau, Bahamas; Tyler Smith, a senior Nursing major from Morgantown; Steven Freck, a senior Social Work major from Huntington; Michael Lea, a senior Exercise Science major from Elkhart; and Jason Marshall, a sophomore Political Science major from Spiceland.

The fun continues with a ComedySportz improv performance at 9 p.m. tonight, the Homecoming Carnival for UIndy families from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, and much more throughout the week. More information is here.

On a more serious note, two major events take place Friday:

Health Pavilion dedication
Beginning at 12:30 p.m. Friday is the dedication ceremony for the UIndy Health Pavilion. The program will include remarks from UIndy and Community Health Network officials and developer Gene Zink as well as an invocation by Bishop Mike Coyner of the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. A four-stage ribbon cutting, representing the various allied health programs housed in the building, will take place at 1 p.m., followed by building tours until 2 p.m.

Campaign launch gala
Friday night at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, UIndy will launch the public phase of “UIndy Starts With You: The Campaign for the University of Indianapolis,” which will build upon the recent progress made on the university’s Vision 2030 strategic plan and advance the university mission in four key focus areas: Student Opportunities, Faculty and Academic Excellence, Campus and Community, and Transformative Opportunities. Registration is full for the evening, which will include cocktails, dinner, a program and – free for students – dessert and dancing with live music from 9 to 11 p.m.

Getting back to Saturday, the key events (listed in detail at www.uindy.edu/homecoming) will include:

9 a.m.: Hound Hustle 5K Run/Walk
11 a.m.: Founders Day Celebration and Library Re-dedication
Noon: Science balloon launch
1 p.m.: Naming ceremony: Ron and Laura Strain Honors College
2 p.m.: Naming ceremony: Riad and Yvonne Shaheen College of Arts & Sciences
3-6 p.m.: Tailgate Town (zip line, climbing wall, Colts in Motion museum, live music from The Doo! Band)
4 p.m.: Homecoming Parade
6 p.m.: Football vs. Truman State
9 p.m.: Postgame bonfire

Go Hounds!