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Reunion 2007
  
Firsts, Lasts, and Anniversaries
at Festive Reunion Weekend
More than 1,400 alumni came for events that began on Thursday,
may 10, with a keynote address from Ruth Porat, WG’87, Vice
Chairman, investment Banking, morgan Stanley, and ended on
Sunday, may 13, with an All-Alumni Brunch and the traditional alumni
processional during graduation to welcome new degree-holders to
the alumni fold.
In between, Wharton got down to business with professional
education workshops led by Wharton professors Michael
Useem, David Reibstein, Richard Shell, Peter Cappelli, and Howard
Kunreuther.
“Faculty like to get in front of a crowd that doesn’t raise their
hands to ask, ‘Is this going to be on the test?’” joked departing
Dean Patrick T. Harker at a Wharton Town Hall meeting in the
Dhirubhai Ambani Auditorium. On a more serious note, he pressed
alumni to redouble their own involvement during the transition to
new leadership.
The first-ever Celebration of Women’s leadership, “Women at the
Forefront,” hosted by leadership expert Roslyn Courtney, WG’76, attracted top executives to Wharton for a panel discussion and breakout sessions. “When you get to a certain level, whether you’re male or female, you’re all elbowing for the same next job. I have a leadership
style that works for me,” said Deborah Fretz, who, as President
and CEO of Sunoco logistics Partners, is a rare female chief executive
in the oil business. Fretz, a proud Penn parent of two alumnae,
continued, “People often confuses leadership and management.
A manager works through the system. A leader works on the system
and tries to change it for the better.”
Of course, alumni mixed plenty of pleasure in with the business.
On Friday evening, alumni convened at the MBA pub for the
Class of 2002, a Class of 1997 mixer on the eighth floor of Jon M.
Huntsman Hall, and the All-Alumni Reunion Class mixer at the World
Café live, the three-year-old Penn music venue that has become one
of the most memorable parts of Reunion weekend. Also, in celebration
of its 15-year anniversary, the Joseph Wharton Scholars (the undergraduate research honors program) invited all its alumni to West
Philadelphia’s Zocalo restaurant.
The seasonable weekend ran the gamut of spring weather from
sunshine to Saturday-evening showers that held off long enough for
reunion attendees and their families to enjoy a schedule of activities
that offered something for everyone. Cultural and family events
on Friday and Saturday included a family picnic on Lehman Brothers
Quad, an art-gallery hop, a National Constitution Center tour, a kids’
tent, an alumni run/walk, and a trip to Dave and Buster’s amusements
on the Delaware riverfront.
Later on, Philadelphia played host to an Emeritus Society lunch
for all alumni from the classes of 1957 and earlier. An MBA Exec
(WEMBA) Reunion Dinner welcomed all reunion classes at the Ritz-Carlton, while MBA Reunion classes took over the city high and low,
with dinners at locations from the Pyramid Club, which overlooks
Philadelphia from the top of 1735 Market Street, to the ballrooms of
the Westin Hotel.
Next year’s Reunion promises a lively mix of professional programming,
networking opportunities, and social engagement. Mark
your calendars for may 16–18, 2008.
  
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