By Jill Spotz

A group of alumni are standing outside. They are smiling at the camera. More than 2,100 alumni and families arrived to beautiful weather and stunning fall foliage for Fall Weekend Oct. 25-27. New this year, Homecoming, Family Weekend, and Fall Fest, sponsored by the Lafayette Activities Forum, took place simultaneously. The Quad was transformed with festive pumpkins and autumn decorations for Fall Fest and the Fall Harvest picnic, where students and families enjoyed hayrides, a petting zoo, live music, and savored delicious food from food trucks before the Saturday football game against Holy Cross. Highlights from the weekend included a Fall Harvest Tailgate, Gateway Career Center Volunteer Awards, Marquis Founders Dinner, the dedication of the Wallach Sports Performance and Lacrosse Center, a retirement celebration for Rosie Bukics, Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Professor of Economics, Sustainability’s LaFarm-to-Table Luncheon, fraternity and sorority gatherings, and more. Take a look at some moments from this action-packed weekend.


Gateway Career Center Volunteer Awards

The Gateway Career Center’s annual Volunteer Awards honor alumni and parents who consistently share their expertise and knowledge to ensure Lafayette students receive exceptional career experiences such as internships, externships, and professional development. The recipients of this year’s awards included:  

Danielle Bero ’07: Lois and Neil Gagnon Award for Distinguished Service

David Hammer ’92, Mark Suffredini ’93, and Josh Werner ’79: 25-year Distinguished Externship Service Commitment Award

Jeff Cantafio ’99, Susan C. Pannulo P’14, Christina Seckar ’96, and Brian Sliwinski ’08: 10-year Externship Commitment Award


Marquis Founders Dinner

Members of Lafayette’s Marquis Society gathered in Marquis Hall Oct. 25 for the annual Marquis Founders Dinner. Marquis Society members contributed more than $22.6 million to elevate the student experience last fiscal year. Collectively, Marquis Society members are the most generous benefactors of the College. Their support impacts many initiatives and programs including the Lafayette College Fund, which supports the College’s highest priorities, financial aid, academic programs, athletics, and more. 

During the evening, President Nicole Farmer Hurd led a panel discussion with Laura McGrane, provost, and Ernest Jeffries, vice president for inclusion, focused on the College’s new strategic plan. Together, they discussed the concept of “And” in academics and connected topics such as creating environments for learning, building critical thinking skills, promoting civil dialogue, and leaning into Easton and the Lehigh Valley for educational opportunities.  

“With more than 2,200 members in the Marquis Society, your support has a tremendous impact across campus,” said President Nicole Hurd during her remarks. “When I look around this room, I see so many who help us unlock the immense potential of our students.”


Wallach Sports Performance and Lacrosse Center Groundbreaking and Beam Signing

Alumni, parents, coaches, and student-athletes from the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams gathered on Oct. 26 for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Wallach Sports Performance and Lacrosse Center at Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex. Construction began in July 2024 on the two-story building, which will feature a weight room, men’s and women’s locker rooms, film room, sports medicine area with hydrotherapy tubs, and coaches’ offices. A new turf field will also be installed with lighting. The project is on target to be completed by fall 2025. 

“This is a moment to celebrate, but for me, it is also a moment of reflection,” said Sherryta Freeman, director of athletics, during her remarks. “I remember when we first started to discuss a new facility for our lacrosse programs, evaluating the needs and dreaming about what we could build for our student-athletes to support them in the best way possible. Today, we can see that the dream is becoming a reality. We will be in a facility that represents the pride we have in our athletic programs and one that puts our league on notice we are here to compete. This is a game changer.”

Following the groundbreaking, alumni, parents, coaches, and student-athletes signed a beam installed in the center. 

Support the center

  • Names spaces are available. For additional information, contact Joe Samaritano ’91, senior associate athletic director for advancement at (610) 330-5047 or via email at samaritj@lafayette.edu.

The Wallach Center was made possible by the generosity of many alumni, parents, and friends, including Andrew ’95 and Dina Opici-Wallach ’95, the F.M. Kirby Foundation, Inc., and the Linville family. 


Retirement Celebration for Rosie Bukics

A retirement celebration was held Oct. 26 to honor Rosie Bukics, Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Professor of Economics.

On Saturday, more than 160 alumni and members of the on-campus community gathered together in Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center to honor Rosie Bukics, Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Professor of Economics. Since arriving at Lafayette in 1980, Prof. Bukics has impacted generations of Lafayette students. Bukics retired earlier this year and is the longest-serving female faculty member in the history of Lafayette College. An author of eight books in accounting and finance, Bukics has given selflessly to students. Her teaching has received accolades from the College with many awards, including the Omicron Delta Epsilon Award nine times. In 2018, she established the Bukics Family Scholarship Fund to provide financial aid to deserving students. Among the members of the Lafayette community who shared sentiments during the celebration were three former students representing decades of impact: Tracie Lozowski Snyder ’91, Bruce Wayne ’04, Coral Maizler Weston ’08, and Andrew Chuma ’19


Legacy Celebration

Legacy families participated in an official pinning ceremony for the newest members of the Lafayette family. For some families, their Lafayette legacy spans multiple generations. Lafayette President Nicole Farmer Hurd and John Mulcahy ’87, P’27 vice chair, Southeast Advisory Council welcomed families at the event. Lafayette’s “legacy tradition” dates back to the first graduating class. Although the Class of 1836 had only 47 members, two members of the class had sons who followed in their footsteps. Below are photos of some special moments captured during the ceremony.


Tailgates and Celebrations

View all photos from Fall Weekend on Flickr. 


Weekend Scoreboard (home events):

Football Holy Cross 34, Lafayette 28 

Men’s soccer – Lafayette 1, Loyola Maryland 0

Women’s soccer – Bucknell 2, Lafayette 1

Field hockey – Lafayette 5, Boston University 0

Volleyball – Lehigh 3, Lafayette 0

                    Bucknell 3, Lafayette 0 

Categorized in: Alumni, Featured News, Giving News, News and Features, News for Families, Parents & Families

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