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Echols Scholar Alumni
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

Event Details

Ticket sales for the Echols 65th Anniversary have now closed.

To see a list of attendees, check out our Hoos Attending page.

Accessibility

If you have a valid disabled permit or license plate displayed, you may park in an accessible parking space anywhere on Grounds. Additionally, accessible University Transit buses will provide looping shuttle services across Grounds.

Accommodations

We have secured a block of rooms at The Forum Hotel with a discount off the regular, refundable rate. When selecting your room, you’ll see this discount applied under the “Catering” rate.

For additional accommodations in the area, check out the Charlottesville Visitors Bureau.

Attire

Evening wear both nights should be business or cocktail casual. March in Virginia can be unpredictable, so plan for warmer days and cooler evenings.
For daytime, go with comfortable, nice casual since you’ll be walking and staying busy.

Parking and Transportation

Paid visitor parking is available in The Central Grounds Garage, located under the University Bookstore, through ParkMobile. ParkMobile is available via app or by calling 877-727-5758. Please note: there is a $5 registration fee by ParkMobile if setting up an account through a phone call.

Visitors can also use the University Transit Service (UTS), a fare-free transit service. For more information on UTS, the service schedule, and real-time bus arrival predictions, visit UVA’s Parking and Transportation website.

The following rideshare services are also available:

Supporting the Echols Scholars Program

The Echols Scholars Program is committed to making attendance at the Reunion as affordable as possible, and we are offering tickets for younger alumni and guests at well below cost. If you would like to contribute to offset the cost of these tickets, you are welcome to contribute to our Annual Fund.

Tickets

Ticket sales have now closed.

The Echols Scholars Program is paying ticket fees and offering young alumni tickets well below cost to ensure our reunion is as accessible as possible. You are welcome to contribute to our Annual Fund if you would like to help offset the program’s share of these costs.

Weekend at a Glance

Friday, March 20

  • 1:00-2:00 p.m. Tour of the Contemplative Sciences Commons (for early arriving guests), UVA Central Grounds
  • NEW: 2:15-3:00 p.m. Tour of the Rotunda, The Rotunda
  • 4:30-5:30 p.m. Pre-reception, The Forum Hotel
    5:30-6:45 p.m. Opening Panel: “Stories from Echols Across the Decades”, with a keynote by Tim Ingrassia (Col ’86), The Forum Hotel
    7:00-8:30 p.m. – Evening Reception, The Forum Hotel

Saturday, March 21

  • 9:30-10:45 a.m. – Plenary Panel: “Resilience and the Liberal Arts in Changing Times”, with Judge Barbara Lynn (Col ’74), Abby Fifer Mandell (Col ’02), Bobby Doyle (Col ’17), and Gregory Perryman (Col ’26), moderated by Bob Witeck (Col ’74), Newcomb Hall
  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Session Block One:
    • Career Coffee Chats with Current Echols Scholars or
    • Tours of Grounds led by Echols Student Ambassadors or
    • Lecture by UVA Professor Kelsey Johnson, author of Into the Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos
  • 12:15-1:30 p.m. – Reception with Students or Lunch on Your Own
  • 1:30-2:45 p.m. – Session Block Two:
    • Research Presentations by Current Echols Scholars or
    • Tours of Grounds by Ambassadors led by Echols Student Ambassadors or
    • Discussion Panel: “Teaching at UVA After Echols,” with UVA faculty and Echols alumni Jeanine Braithwaite (Col ’82), Jahan Ramazani (Col ’82), Karen James (Col ’82) and Ricardo Padron (Col ’89)
  • NEW TIME: 3:30-4:30 p.m. – Session Block Three:
    • Explore on your Own or
    • Book Talk with Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon, co-sponsored with Virginia Festival of the Book
  • 6:30 p.m. – Closing Dinner with Program: “Echols, Today and Tomorrow”, with Christa Acampora, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Karl Shuve, Director of the Echols Scholars Program, The Forum Hotel