Reunion Weekend 2025

A clear forecast welcomed back a large group of classes at Reunion Weekend 2025, June 6, 7 and 8. It was especially meaningful for some guests who remarked they hadn’t been back to campus in a decade or more, after missing the previous reunion five years ago due to COVID.

As usual, Friday evening kicked off the weekend with class parties throughout campus, each offering a chance for alumni to celebrate their class reunion and reconnect with classmates from their grad year. The recently inducted Golden Flyers, from the Class of 1975, joined other Golden Flyers in the Kennedy Union Ballroom to commemorate their 50th anniversary of graduation.

“It’s just fun, meeting people and reconnecting,” said Buddy Facciponte ’65.

Each table of Golden Flyers had different stories to tell; these Flyers having seen the most change come to campus through the years. One particular table of alumni roared with cheers after recalling memories from the 1972 Dayton versus Notre Dame basketball game which ended in a Flyer win, 86–74.

“We didn’t just beat them, we crushed them!” recalled Carol Novak Miske ’75. 

Regis Lekan ’71, a former UD cheerleader, recalled the atmosphere of the game that night: “Being on that court was just exhilarating.”

Downstairs in the Hangar, the Class of 1995 was rocking to Boyz II Men, Madonna and one-hit-wonder The Rembrandts.

Said Dan Mudra ’95:

“It’s like turning back the clock and being where you’re supposed to be.” 

His wife, Molly Slyers Mudra ’95, agreed. “It’s such a special place,” she said. “Coming here is like coming home.” 

Flyer friends Janet Kennedy Bentz ’95 and Jackie Sudore-Flood ’95 had mutual friends when they were students on campus, but said they didn’t actually meet each other until more than a decade after graduation.

“We carpooled together for our 15th anniversary reunion and instantly clicked,” said Sudore-Flood.

“We often get nostalgic thinking about what could have been if we met during our time at UD,” Bentz said, “but that just shows how important it is to have such a strong connection to your school and the alumni network.”

The Class of 2020’s graduation was cancelled due to COVID in the spring of 2020, so for many of them, this five-year reunion was extra special, as it was many grads’ first time back on campus since leaving for quarantine in March of that year.

“This is really the first time you feel like you belong with the alumni community,” said Chloe Voelker ’20.

After having missed their Senior Toast in 2020, the class took the opportunity to recreate the event to celebrate their resilience in a time of uncertainty, and their dedication to UD.

In five more years, these alumni classes will return with the most recent graduating class, taking part in this tradition of Dayton’s community spirit to reconnect, reminisce and celebrate.

Photos by Sylvia Stahl and Sai Sandeep Vunnam.