Blue & White Days 2010 – Celebrating 125 years of DWU!

On Oct. 1, 2009, Dakota Wesleyan University kicked off its 125th anniversary with a Founders’ Convocation celebrating the past and looking to the future. The new three-college system was dedicated, as was the Center for Talent Development and three individuals received Distinguished Alumni Awards.

What followed was a year of celebration for a university’s resilience during times of war and disease and its ability to grow when the economy would suggest otherwise; and, of course, this has been a time to celebrate the people of DWU. Students, staff, faculty, alumni – friends and family of those who have taught in our classrooms, trekked across campus in sun or snow, and pulled pranks in the dormitories. This has been a time for memory.

In honor of this milestone, DWU handed out birthday cupcakes in January 2010 during the Pack the Palace basketball game at the Corn Palace, hosted a Founder’s Lecture and conducted a community-wide Service Day – all to commemorate 125 years of learning, leadership, faith and service.

Blue & White Days 2010 provided multiple events and activities, including several highlights like the Kugel Reunion Choir performances, the “Dakota Wesleyan University Memory Book, 1885-2010,” by Jim McLaird; and the 1966 Highlanders preceding the Village People with DWU alumnus Jeff Olson ’75 as the “cowboy.”

Alumni came back to campus in droves and enjoyed root beer floats and banana splits on Jackson Plaza, a “Little Tree That Never Grew” ceremony in front of Prather Hall, a Corn Palace mural group photo, buffalo burger tailgating, and several class reunions.

Check out the photos from the weekend and scroll through the press releases and Daily Republic stories below to read all about the Blue & White Bash and homecoming weekend!

And mark your calendars ~ next year’s homecoming is set for Oct. 1, 2011. Stay tuned for more information about what’s in store for 2011!

News Releases