Many happy returns: Centre celebrates during Homecoming 2025
Homecoming Weekend 2025 showcased the strength and impact of Centre’s community, bringing alumni from all over the country back to Danville.
Exceptional Centre graduates through the years were honored, starting with a tribute to a former U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and culminating with new additions to the College's Distinguished Alumni rolls and Athletics Hall of Fame.
Current students shared the spotlight throughout the weekend with Greek organizations hosting returning graduates and 2025 Homecoming royalty being crowned under the lights of Andy Frye Stadium.
Join us as we look back at the sights and sounds of Homecoming 2025.
John Marshall Harlan Sculpture Dedication Ceremony
Homecoming kicked off with a ceremony to unveil a new statue of John Marshall Harlan, class of 1850, created by Louisville artist Ed Hamilton. Known as The Great Dissenter, Harlan is widely recognized for his long and influential service on the U.S. Supreme Court (1877–1911). His principled, solitary dissents in many landmark cases following the U.S. Civil War, including Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), frequently championed racial equality.
The ceremony was attended by students, alumni and special guest speakers including U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky Jacqueline Coleman ’04, author and Harlan biographer Peter Canellos, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, and retired U.S. District Judge Peggy Purdom Patterson ’72.
Read more about the dedication and about Harlan’s remarkable history.
Milton Reigelman Returns to the Teacher’s Podium
Cowan Professor of English, Emeritus, Milton Reigelman is known for his presence in the classroom and impact on the Centre community, serving in many administrative roles for the College including a stint as acting president, Director of Centre Global (formerly Centre for Global Citizenship), Vice President for Planning and Resources, and more. He returned to his professor role for one special class.
He taught a crowd of alumni and former students The Five Greatest Moments in American Literature. Alumni volunteers joined him on stage to read and reenact famous passages from Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost and Herman Melville.
Alumni also had the chance to learn from Professor of Art Patrick Martin ‘86 in his Legacy of Glass seminar.
A Proposal to Remember
Returning to the campus that brought them together, Tanner Lopez ’20 asked Meghan Paynter ’20 to marry him in front of Old Centre. Congratulations to the happy couple!
Recognizing Distinguished Alumni
Early Saturday morning, four new distinguished alumni were recognized for their impact in their communities and the world at the Alumni Recognition Ceremony. New inductees include Valentine Banor ’17, Robin Cline Vanderpool ’97, John Horhn ’77 and Helen Williams Dedman ’75.
Read more about the distinguished alumni honored here.
Centre Athletics also inducted four members into the Athletics Hall of Fame: Rachel Brannen ’13 (Women’s Soccer); Amy Hebbeler ’13 (Women’s Soccer); John Kieffer ’13 (Men’s Cross Country); Greg Ross ’12 (Men’s Basketball).
Read more about the Hall of Fame honorees here.
Football Under the Saturday Night Lights
Saturday evening was perfect for an exhilarating game of football. The Colonels defeated Southwestern University 19-16 in their final night game of the season.
At halftime, the Homecoming Court from the senior class were brought out onto the field. Class of 2026 members Sophia Koppensteiner and Samuel Cotthoff were named Homecoming Royalty.
