Class of 1971 55th Reunion

Registration Now Open!

Welcome to the Class of 1971’s 55th Reunion. In less than five months it will soon be time again to join with other '71er's and renew old friendships, start new ones (yes, there’s still time to do that!), revel in good food and music, and celebrate a unique event - Princeton Reunions 2026, our 55th.

The theme for our 55th Reunion is “Sustaining THE Wild Life,” which pays a tip of the hat to our never diminished youthful exuberance while at the same time acknowledging one of the foremost crises of our times. This also aligns with the University’s intense efforts at sustainability, while keeping our iconic Joe Cool tiger on the motorcycle brand. (Thank you to Bill Armiger for spearheading the theme and logo efforts). The Planning Committee has been mindful to consider sustainable options in all our decisions. The full list of committee members is in our just-launched digital yearbook under the heading Class Officers/Reunion Chairs on the yearbook homepage or at this link.

Our Planning Committee has been working to ensure that the 55th Reunion promises to offer a broad array of activities at our own HQ site and at a variety of venues across the Princeton University campus. As we age (just a tad), Reunions become more meaningful, so this is an event you won't want to miss.

From Thursday to Sunday, we have a jam-packed schedule. Since we hope to add additional events you can find the current schedule here.

Starting Off

We kick off Reunions on Thursday with the bedrock of any great Reunions: food and music. Meet and greet starting at 6:00pm while you enjoy a Class BBQ at the Scully courtyard HQ. All three of our dinners will be at Scully. Since there have been so many changes since even our 45th Reunion a map of the campus is here. We’ll have a map highlighting the important Class of 1971 locations posted on the website before the Reunion. During the BBQ we’ll be entertained by Mikki Zip, a young country singer we met at the Class mini-Reunion in Nashville (an aspiring singer, she was our guide at the Grand Ole Opry). After the BBQ we’ll follow with dancing, swaying and singing to “Dancing Dreams,” an ABBA cover group starting at 8:30pm. Here is a good place to acknowledge the work of ’71 empresario Stu Rickerson in arranging the three nighttime bands, and Class spouses Ginger Pitney and Jill Brooks in picking the caterers and menu selections. Come to campus early on Thursday and enjoy the new University Art Museum.

Rise and shine Friday for a day of Alumni-Faculty Forums, more food and more music. But, as they say on late-night TV, wait, there’s more! In addition to the University-sponsored alumni-faculty panels (with representation by 1971, topics and speakers to be announced), we’ll have two Class-sponsored forums that feature classmates from 1971. The first, on Friday morning at 9:00am will address the topic of presidential power. Moderated by legal scholar Luther Munford, it will feature Paul Colburn, Kevin Baine and Phil Bobbitt. All are old-hands in the world of DC politics or constitutional law. The afternoon’s Class-sponsored event at 1:15pm is a lecture and film presentation by Rich Neill, 1971’s answer to Ken Burns, on how media matters and can make a difference.

Friday night is the Class dinner, also at the Scully HQ site, catered by The Golden Carrot, featuring something for every palate. The reception starts at 5:30pm with dinner at 6:00pm. The Class meeting will take place during dinner and will include selection of our leadership for the next 5-year cycle. During dinner Paul Mickey and Peter Robinson will provide musical background and as in years’ past the Tigerlilies will stop by to serenade us. After dinner, we’ll be entertained by the ever popular Liquid Pleasure starting at 9:00pm.

The Big Day

Saturday is often the highlight of Reunions, featuring the one and only P-rade. But before this celebration of all things Orange and Black we will hold a memorial service at 9:00am in the University Chapel to honor classmates who can no longer join us. As a special treat, Mark Swanson will be playing the University Chapel organ at the service, which will be led by Dennis Macaleer and Greg Winsky with additional music from Ben Tousley. After the service, at 10:00am, we’ll hold the last of our Class-sponsored lectures, as Tom Connell keeps us in a spiritual mood with a travelogue of his two hikes along the Camino de Santiago. Come dressed in your 1971 finery as the Class photo will come next, at 11:30am sharp, on the steps of Clio Hall after Tom’s presentation. You can opt to purchase the Class photo on the registration form. Keeping moving, we follow the photo with our Class lunch at 12:00pm, this year held in the new Art Museum’s patio. It's a short walk from there to Nassau Hall where we’ll line up for the P-rade. Leading us in high-stepping fashon will be The Bushwackers Drum and Bugle Corps, a dynamic group found by P-rade leader Laird Hayes. Henry Barkhorn is having new signs for us to carry.

After the P-rade, amble a short distance back to the Scully quad HQ to start our reception, which begins as soon as we arrive. Dinner starts at 5:30pm, followed by the sounds of Gary Rolands and The LandSharks. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Jimmy Buffet themed dinner without margaritas, thanks to our bar/beverage meisters Jack McNab, Chuck Brodbeck and Geoff Smith. After dinner you can make your way via a short walk to Princeton Stadium for the Princeton Orchestra concert followed by the spectacular Reunions fireworks, which can also be viewed from Poe Field adjacent to the Scully HQ.

Don’t rush off after the fireworks however, as on Sunday we’ll have a farewell (really a “it’s not goodbye but see you later”) brunch, held at Cap & Gown. The music will be a bit mellower as we hope to be entertained by jazz saxophonist Max Abrams ’99.

Our HQ/Crew co-chairs Roger Saltman and Geoff Smith have assembled a team and HQ layout to ensure things move smoothly. We hope to add new surprises to the weekend over the next few month so check the Reunions schedule that will be periodically updated.

Book Drive/Service Project

Our Class Service Project for our 55th Reunion in 2026 aligns with our theme of “Sustaining the Wild Life.” We are asking classmates to purchase and donate books on climate change, biodiversity and/or environmental science to be distributed to school and public libraries in underserved New Jersey communities that might otherwise find it difficult to secure the resources to purchase them. David Schankler is spearheading this effort. If you would like to participate, you’ll have 3 ways to do so: (1) bring a book to the Reunion from our curated list of award-winning or notable books, (2) purchase and ship a book to David, or (3) make a monetary donation, say $20, which we’ll use to purchase a book. One last incentive to participate: a book will be donated by an anonymous classmate for each of the first 100 contributions. You’ll find the details on how to participate when you register for the Reunion.

Housing

As Reunions has grown in size, hotels in the area have become reluctant to offer room blocks, and we cannot provide that option this year. The Class has arranged for two types of housing options. The first type is dormitory rooms at Scully, Bloomberg and Wilf Halls. These dorms have A/C, are adjacent to the HQ site, and linens are provided. We haven’t received our allocation from the University yet, but anticipate that we’ll have 60 beds on campus. Note the University assigns us beds, rather than rooms, but many of the rooms are adjoining. If you have special needs (e.g. need to be on a ground floor or near an elevator, wish to be near another classmate or guest, etc.), please add that information when you register to let our housing chair Bill McCarter know.

The other Class housing option is a block of rooms at the Erdman Conference Center at the Princeton Theological Seminary. This is an approximate 15-20 minute walk to campus. Free parking is available.

You’ll be able to sign up for either campus or Erdman rooms as part of the registration process. Since sign up will be first come, first serve, please register promptly and sign up and pay for the number of beds you want when you register. The sign up will be for 3 nights (Thursday through Saturday) with no partial bookings. Beds are restricted to individuals registered for Reunions.

Golf Carts and Transportation

These need to be ordered separately from registration. The University has increased the availability of the Reunions Rover – the popular student-driven transport services for alumni and guests. Preference is given to those with mobility impairments. The Rovers make continuous intra-campus loops with stops at headquarters sites, parking lots and program locations throughout Reunions weekend. Classmates with mobility issues may also rent golf cart rentals. Details for this program will be posted on this page when available.

For those arriving by car, parking is available in designated lots, and Reunion signage will help guide you to convenient drop-off points near headquarters and major program venues. Shuttle schedules and campus maps will be distributed prior to check-in to help everyone navigate the weekend’s festivities. If you have any specific transportation needs or require assistance, please reach out to us ahead of time so we can help make your Reunion experience comfortable and accessible.

Reunion Fee Schedule

We’re encouraging all classmates to attend all three days of Reunions, so the fee schedule is designed accordingly. Our Reunion Fee Schedule can be viewed here. Please note the cancellation and refund policy. We encourage all classmates to register early, before the early bird deadline February 28, both to save money but also help us with planning. Most importantly, once we give our final head count to the caterers, there are no refunds. And, we cannot guarantee any meals for folks who drop in at Reunions without prior registration.

We urge all registrants to pay by personal check to avoid third party financing fees that the Class otherwise will have to pay. When paying by personal check, write it to “Princeton University Class of 1971 Reunion” and send it to: Bill McCarter, 12 Byram Lane, Little Silver, NJ 07739 1802. If you must use plastic, using an ATM/debit card instead of a credit card will save us transaction fees.

Registrants for the full three days will be treated to a selection of swag selected through the efforts of Tom Stubbs, Laird Hayes and Bill Armiger. Note that unlike an off-year Reunion, Class members are not limited to a single guest registration.

Registration

Our 55th Reunion registration will be done using a University system to sign up, choose options, and make payment. You'll need to have your TigerNet username and password available to register. Note that this not the same as your Class website username and password. If you have forgotten your TigerNet login or don't have one, now is a good time to make sure you have the access you'll need. Instructions for TigerNet can be found at this University webpage. Scroll down to the heading "How to create or recover your Tigernet account access or get help" and click on it to view the information. There you'll also find an email address to use if you have any problems.

To register, just go to the Class website homepage and select the button "REGISTER FOR THE REUNION!". When registering, you'll need to enter your email address for confirmation messages. Please be certain it's entered correctly for you and all adult guests.

While you are logged in to TigerNet, you might want to take look at the newly designed Alumni Directory. Click the link at the top of the page. There you can search for alumni in any class. You may want to check and update your profile: click My Homepage, then My Profile to make changes. Unlike the old directory, personal contact information is hidden from view by others by default.

Our special Class Associates (widows and widowers) and Honorary Classmates won’t be able to register online. Rather, please contact the Registration Chair, Alan Usas, at alanusas@gmail.com for further information.

Yearbook

This is also a good opportunity to update your entry (or create one if you failed to do so for our 50th) in our 55th Reunion digital yearbook. Thanks to Ray Ollwerther and Chris Connell for continuing as yearbook editors. This will be a living document and we invite all classmates to add new narrative and photos. See the yearbook information at the end of this email to view the contents and update your profile.

A special supplement to the yearbook is being created as a tribute to the 43 Class members who have died since our 50th Reunion. The supplement will include memorials for each Classmate, photos, and remembrances (which are still welcome). A printed version will be mailed to the families, and it is expected to be available online to Class members in the spring. 

Registration Deadline

We need your response by May 8 and preferably well before in order to make meal commitments to the caterers, make sure the bar is stocked and order swag without over-ordering. Please register as soon as your plans are known. While there is a limited “last minute” registration option, it will only offer you a wristband, refreshments, and entertainment.

Questions

For general inquiries about the '71 Reunion, please contact Jeff Hammond, Reunion Chair, at hammbrook@aol.com. If you encounter any difficulty with registration, please contact Alan Usas, Registration/Technology Chair, at alanusas@gmail.com. And housing-related inquiries should go to Bill McCarter at gwcmcc@gmail.com.

So add your entry into our new 55th Yearbook, practice up on your Locomotive, and get ready to return to “the best damn place of all.” The more Classmates who come back, the merrier the Reunion will be. It all starts with you signing up – now if you can!

See you all soon,