Held as part of this year’s Bobcat Weekend festivities, the event brought together graduates who earned their degrees 50 years ago or more. The guests of honor were nine members of the Class of 1976, the year the nation celebrated its bicentennial, Jimmy Carter was elected as the 39th president and the university’s fledgling men’s ice hockey program completed its first year as a varsity sport.

“I want you to know what a treasure you are for this institution,” President Marie Hardin said in her welcome remarks. “We are built on the foundation of our great communities through the years since the beginning of Quinnipiac. It means so much to me that you’re here.”

This year’s celebration took place in the second-floor auditorium of the state-of-the-art School of Business, the centerpiece of the South Quad renovation. Standing inside one of the university’s newest landmarks, the alumni attendees perused yearbooks and archival issues of the Quinnipiac Chronicle on loan from the Arnold Bernhard Library as a band provided a jazzy ambience.

Greg Knott, associate vice president for advancement, emceed the event, introducing a series of speakers before the Golden Bobcat honorees received framed certificates commemorating the occasion. Knott noted that their graduation year coincided with the founding of computer giants Apple and Microsoft, as well as the Summer Olympics in Montreal. Comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory and the Charlie Daniels Band were among the performers who visited the campus in the spring of 1976.

Featured speaker Jody Ashielfie ’25, MBA ’27, delivered a poignant address about her college journey, retracing the steps that led her to Quinnipiac. She thanked all the Golden Bobcats in attendance for “building the reputation behind the name on the diploma I carry proudly today.”

“When I walked onto this campus, not sure I belonged, the race was already underway,” she said. “I did not have to start from a standstill. I only had to take the baton and run.”

Kaab Dawit ’27, a first-generation college student from Alexandria, Virginia, who serves as the vice president of the Quinnipiac Computing Club and head manager of the men’s basketball team, also thanked the alumni for their generosity in creating scholarship opportunities.

“When I think about your generosity and what it means,” Dawit said, “I don’t just think about financial support. I think about opportunity. I think about hope. I think about my future, my family’s future and the doors that have been opened because of generous people like you.”

Bob Passero ’70, a member of the advisory council for the College of Arts & Sciences, concluded the program by welcoming each new member of the Golden Bobcats.

Throughout the afternoon, attendees caught up over an elegant lunch, swapped memories from their college years and heard updates on the university’s future trajectory. Eden Berry ’28 gave a presentation about the digitization of the Chronicle’s archives, allowing alumni a rare opportunity to flip through the pages of their shared history.

For many in attendance, the luncheon serves as the emotional anchor of Bobcat Weekend, offering a dedicated space to honor the generations of graduates who laid the foundation for Quinnipiac’s growth as a nationally renowned institution.