Rutgers Reunion Spans the Raritan
James W. Hughes fondly remembers the autumn day in 1961 when he moved into one of the Rutgers University–New Brunswick “river hall” residences overlooking the Raritan.
“I was the first person in my extended family to go to college, and it was a thrill,” said Hughes, who went on to earn a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Rutgers and ultimately become dean of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. “I thought that the Freylinghuysen Hall 10-by-10 cinder block room with a view of the Raritan River was the finest bedroom I had ever had in my life. I had a tremendous time as an undergraduate.”
Hughes, a graduate of the Class of 1965, was one of more than 100 alumni who revisited such warm memories of their time at the daylong reunion festivities held Friday for Rutgers–New Brunswick classes of 1975, 1970, 1965, 1960, 1955, and 1950.
Hughes, the morning’s featured speaker, presented the content of his most recent book, Rutgers Then and Now–Two Centuries of Physical Campus Development: A Historic and Photographic Odyssey, which he coauthored. Published by Rutgers University Press in late 2024, the book is a study in text and photos of the more than 250-year-history of Rutgers’ growth in New Brunswick and Piscataway. All proceeds from sales of the book support student scholarships.
Hughes, who has a seemingly encyclopedic recall of the university’s structures, described Old Queens, which dates to 1809, as “still today one of the great buildings of New Jersey,” Hughes said. “It is the kernel of where the Rutgers we have today began.”
Following Hughes’ presentation in the Livingston Student Center and a luncheon at the Rutgers Club featuring comments by Rutgers University Alumni Association Chair Talib Morgan NCAS’96, RBSG’98 and Rutgers–New Brunswick Provost Jason Geary, two busloads of alumni toured the campuses on both sides of the Raritan. The tour ended with a stop at the Rutgers Alumni House at Van Nest Hall where alumni joined the traditional reunion parade in front of Old Queens on the College Avenue campus. After remarks by Rutgers–New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences Dean Juli Wade, Class of 1975 alumnus Bill Cummings rang the bell atop the landmark Old Queens building.
Bernadette Session, a 1975 graduate of Livingston College, traveled from her home in Texas to attend the ceremonies Friday to celebrate her 50th anniversary class because the reunion was an opportunity to “reconnect with this great institution.” She will be back next month during homecoming for the 50-year anniversary celebration of the Iota Psi chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority on campus, of which she was a charter member.
When she attended Rutgers, Session said she surprised her family by moving from her native Florida to New Jersey. She has never regretted it. “It was best education that money can't buy, because you not only get what you're paying for with tuition and room and board, but you get an amazing experience,” Session said.
For more photos of the Reunion's afternoon festivities, visit the slideshow.
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