Founders Weekend Events to Celebrate Gettysburg College’s History
Founders Day Dinner 2014 (Photo Mike Baker/Gettysburg College)
By Gauri Mangala, Co-Features Editor
Saturday will mark the 186th birthday of Gettysburg College, or “Pennsylvania College” as it was first known. On April 7, 1832 Samuel Simon Schmucker founded Pennsylvania College with land provided by abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens, author of the 14th Amendment.
In 1835, the Alumni Association of Pennsylvania College was created, one of the first associations of its kind in the United States. In 1897, the college was renamed Gettysburg College and has retained that name ever since.
This week, Gettysburg College will be hosting its annual Founders Day event. Tonight, Servo will be hosting a Founders Day themed dinner from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, where all alumni and donors are invited back to join with current students, faculty and staff in the enjoyment of foods ranging from the “1832 Grilled Italian Chicken Bruschetta” to “Thaddeus Steven’s French Toast.”
Festivities are set to continue Saturday from 2 to 3 p.m. in Glatfelter Lodge with free ice cream from Half Pint Creamery and, weather permitting, outdoor lawn games from CAB. At 2:30 PM, the bells in the Glatfelter Tower will ring 18 times, one time for every decade the college has been in existence.
There will also be many opportunities to donate to the College’s birthday gift or the senior class gift campaign, including in Servo during the Founders Dinner, or in the CUB lobby on Friday.
Brandon Davis, Assistant Director of Annual Giving for Student Programs hopes that Gettysburgians of yesterday and today will consider donating to the College and believes that events like the birthday gift will “inspire a mindset of philanthropy on campus.”
