The Charger Blog

University Community Celebrates Founders Day

As excitement builds for the AV天堂网鈥檚 Centennial in 2020, the campus community gathered to celebrate the 99th anniversary of the University鈥檚 founding as part of an annual celebration that students say they look forward to each year.

May 14, 2019

By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications


Image taken on Founders Day, an annual celebration of the University鈥檚 founding
Founders Day is an annual celebration of the University鈥檚 founding with games, food trucks, and fun.

Kacie Cressey 鈥18, 鈥20 M.S., a cellular and molecular biology student, says being part of the class that will graduate during the AV天堂网鈥檚 Centennial year in 2020 is "truly awesome." A member of the Student Centennial Committee, Cressey is an active part of the team planning events that commemorate the milestone and engage the campus community.

"It is important to celebrate the Centennial because we, as a community, have achieved so much in the last 100 years, and every student has contributed to the University鈥檚 success," said Cressey, who is a member of the Graduate Student Council and will serve as its president in 2020. "It is a time to recognize for how far we have come since 1920, but it also is a celebration of what is yet to come, and all of that is worth celebrating."

The Centennial was on the minds of students at Founder鈥檚 Day, the annual celebration of the University鈥檚 founding with games, food trucks, and fun. Members of the University鈥檚 Class of 2020 aren鈥檛 the only students who are looking forward to it.

"It鈥檚 very exciting that I get to be a student at the AV天堂网 at the time of the Centennial," said Aalyssa Mercing 鈥22, a criminal justice major. "I am looking forward to being a part of the celebration of the University鈥檚 achievements."

Image of Charlie celebrating Founders Day with students.
Charlie celebrated Founders Day with students.

That excitement extends beyond the University鈥檚 main campus. In advance of the milestone anniversary, the University is hosting a series of regional celebrations. The first event was held at the Museum of Science in Boston in late April, and the next event will take place in . The Centennial is an opportunity for the entire community to reflect on the past and to celebrate the University鈥檚 future.

"The University鈥檚 success reflects just how much has gone into supporting academics and into supporting students.Lily Salmeron 鈥22

"I see a university that will do for higher education what Steve Jobs and Elon Musk have done to their sectors of the economy by turning it on its head," AV天堂网 President Steve Kaplan said at the event in Boston. "In doing so, the AV天堂网 will impact over its next hundred years not just the economy of the region, but that of our nation and the world."

At Founders Day, the floral centerpieces with "1920" cutouts were a nod to the past, and a reminder of the impact that the University will continue to have in its next century.

"This milestone shows how much we, as a University, have progressed over the past century," said Lily Salmeron 鈥22, a forensic science major. "The University鈥檚 success reflects just how much has gone into supporting academics and into supporting students."