27 June 2009

Over 400 graduates and guests attended this year’s Homecoming event at the University of Leicester on June 27.  Even though it was a grey day, children with faces painted like butterflies, cats and other animals brightened up the campus.  This year Homecoming was made more accessible for alumni with young families through the addition of fun fair rides, face painting and balloon sculptures. 

The day started with Dr John Bond’s Keynote lecture on finding fingerprints once they have been removed.  Dr. Bond’s lecture was enthusiastically received.  Guests were then free to choose from a range of mini lectures and demonstrations which included a visit to the genetics lab, a virtual tour in Geography, hands on demonstrations in Engineering, a visit to a life-size dinosaur and more.

During lunch groups of alumni, some seeing each other for the first time in many years, were scattered around the campus, catching up, trading photos and sharing stories of their time at Leicester.

As the day got hotter, everyone benefitted from the free ice cream created by the Cool Chemists after lunch.  The day concluded with the Vice Chancellors Revue, a mock debate among former Student Sabbatical Officers, and an auction in the Redfearn Bar in support of the redevelopment of the Students’ Union building.