The 50th Reunion marks a tremendous milestone event for the Class of 1972.
Thank you to everyone who attended the reunion on Friday, October 21st and participated in BU's Homecoming activities on Saturday!
As part of the celebration, we hope you'll make a gift to the Bloom On Fund for Emergency Scholarships to keep the Husky pack strong and to commemorate your 50th Reunion. These funds are available for qualified students with unexpected financial need that hinders their ability to continue their educational pursuits.
Ways to Give
- Click on the Give Now button to donate online today with a credit or debit card, ApplePay, PayPal or Venmo
- Mail a check payable to BU Foundation to:
BU Foundation, 50 E. Main Street, 4th floor, Bloomsburg, PA 17815
*Be sure to list Class of '72 in the memo line or include a note with your check - Make a gift from your IRA distribution payable to The Bloomsburg University Foundation
- Make a multi-year pledge to support the scholarship
- Consider making a planned gift and including Bloomsburg University in your estate plans
Click here to view photos from the Class of 1972 50th Reunion!
Click here to view photos from the Homecoming Alumni Tent Party!
Click here to view photos from the Campus Walking Tour!
Click here to view photos of Homecoming 2022!
October 9, 1962 – 60 years ago this week, the first varsity women’s intercollegiate athletic contest was held when the newly organized field hockey team traveled to Lock Haven State College. This was the culmination of a long process to integrate women into the school’s athletic program. Athletics at Bloomsburg in the years after the current campus opened in 1867 were limited to gym classes for both men and women. It was not until the 1890s that organized teams for men were created: baseball in 1890, football in 1892, and basketball in 1894. While women did not have official teams, they did play group sports off campus, starting with basketball in 1897. It was sporadic, however, and nothing in the way of organized schedules and leagues.
Women first had an opportunity for more intensive athletic competition in 1926 when Lucy McCammon was hired to teach physical education. She organized the “B” Club, where women could reach various athletic milestones and receive a letter as the men did for their participation in sports. The club also competed against other schools in what were called Play Days.
When McCammon retired in 1958, her position in athletics was filled by Eleanor Wray, who came to Bloomsburg as an assistant professor of physical education from Heidelberg College in Ohio. Wray was a fighter and felt strongly that women should have the same opportunities to compete as the men did. Although it took time, in January 1962 an extramural program of women’s athletics was approved and the following academic year the first official varsity teams in field hockey, coached by Wray, and basketball were formed.
It would be another decade before women’s athletic opportunities at Bloomsburg expanded once more, this time due to the 1972 passage of Title IX. That fall, Eleanor Wray became coordinator of women’s intercollegiate athletics and in the next five years the sports of swimming, tennis, lacrosse, softball, and track and field were added. Wray retired in 1977, but not before realizing her dream of creating a firm foundation for the establishment of athletics for women at Bloomsburg.
To continue a series of photo essays that have been issued over the years on the history of the university, this academic year the University Archives is proud to present the first of a bi-weekly series on the Bloomsburg State College of 50 years ago. Every two weeks, images taken in 1972 and 1973 for either the student newspaper the Maroon & Gold or the yearbook the Obiter will be presented. These photographs show the physical campus, the activities of students, and what life was like at Bloomsburg a half-century ago. The photo essays coincide with an academic-year celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Archives in the fall of 1972.
The 1972 fall semester officially began for students at Bloomsburg State College with the start of classes on Wednesday, September 6. The day before, however, they had to register for classes in Centennial Gymnasium. Registration took place over the course of an 8-hour marathon session, where 400 students were processed on average every half hour, 4, 249 full-time students in all. This was done through computerized scheduling, thanks to the campus mainframe computer in Ben Franklin.
Seen here helping a student is 1943 Bloomsburg graduate and Vice-President for Development and External Relations, Boyd Buckingham.
One event held for students early on in this semester was an Italian Night dinner on Tuesday, September 19, in the Scranton Commons. Not only was food provided but also entertainment, thanks to the accordion skills of freshman Andy Jinks of Boyertown. This was just over two years since the opening of the Commons, which fed the approximately 2,200 students who resided in the lower campus’ six dormitories.
443 days ago by Nori LewisShare your favorite Bloomsburg memory by filling out this form. We will update this page with your responses.
443 days ago by Samantha BoucekThe following classmates have registered to attend:
Daniel Bartos '72
Joanne Harrison Berkheiser '72
Richard Berkheiser
Karen Willis Blackway '72
John Bucchioni '72
Jim Brandt
Sherri Kindig Brandt '72
James Brewer '72
Colin Brewer
Marybeth Ann Elliott '71
Sherman Allen
Jack Franks '72
Mary Franks
Loretta Korch Gordish '72
Neal Gray '72
Pamela Westley Gray '74
Linda Trainer Green '72
Duane Greenly '72
Susan Basar Greenly '72
Donald Grubb '72
Marcie Grubb
Ed Horvath '72
Richard Neidich
Mark Keithan '72
Eloise Brown Keithan '72
Kenneth Klock '72
Joseph Kundrot '72
John Liggett '72
John Mitchell '72
Joseph O'Donnell '72
Maryann Spaide Popielarz '72
Robert Popielarz '72
Curry Smith '72
David Zelner '72
Terry Zelner
443 days ago by Nori LewisDonors
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