Beloiter Days 2024: a perfect fall weekend and a reunion to remember
From tailgates to alumni awards, Beloiter Days showcased the energy and connection that define Beloit College.
Credit: Kayla Wolf
A boisterous mix of alumni, families, and friends of the college descended on campus on the second weekend in September for Beloiter Days. They sat in on classes, took over C-Haus, marched in the parade, and tailgated at Strong Stadium. The atmosphere was electric — fans packed the stands on a perfect fall evening for football.
Credit: Kayla Wolf
The game against Knox College — a rivalry dating to the 1890s — was a hard-fought battle. Although the Buccaneers came up just short in the end, Coach Ted Soenksen and his team gave it everything they had. The energy was palpable, and despite the score, it was a night to remember. Fans remained after the game to dance to Mr. Pink, Professor Ron Watson’s band.
Credit: Kayla Wolf
The Homecoming Parade was led by Grand Marshall Rae Miller’49, the oldest alum in attendance at 96. For a second year in a row, the grand prize for parade entrants went to RAAS Beloit Dance Collective. Alumni representing 53 class years returned to campus for the reunion, sharing memories and creating new ones.
Credit: Kayla WolfAt the Powerhouse, the main gathering place for the weekend, President Eric Boynton updated parents and alumni on exciting college initiatives, including Impact Beloit, the four new Schools, the return of food to the academic side of campus, and the renovation of residence halls.
Also at the Powerhouse, a full house in Weissberg Auditorium celebrated four distinguished alumni who received this year’s alumni awards.
The weekend was capped off by the Athletic Hall of Honor Lunch and Awards Ceremony, emceed by Athletics Director Dave DeGeorge’89. Inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame were Katelynn Rynders Ambrosini’07 (softball, volleyball); Michael Findley’07 (soccer); and Mike Kovach’11 (baseball).
Alumni Award recipients
Credit: Kayla Wolf
Duncan Gillis’14
Duncan Gillis’14 received the Young Alumni Award, 10 years after graduating with academic honors, lettering in soccer all four years on a record-breaking team, earning the coveted Martha Peterson Prize, and receiving a top award in Spanish. He has continued to pursue excellence as head men’s soccer coach at Beloit and, since 2021, as head coach at CalTech.
His friends, colleagues, and former teammates remember his warmth and humor, positive attitude, and the ease with which he emerged as a leader and mentor at Beloit on the soccer field, in classes, and among friends. As a student, with a propensity for playing old-school video games and a commitment to making space for fun, he drew friends together and created a sense of community. A friend and former teammate says, “Duncan made us better individuals, and he made us better as a team.”
He has maintained his network of friends and former teammates and stayed in touch with his mentors and the soccer team at his beloved alma mater.
Angela Moten Russell’99
Angela Moten Russell’99, a visionary in early childhood development and Board of Trustee member, received the Distinguished Service Citation for the 25th reunion class. Whether serving in state government to advance public health, doing equity and inclusion work in the corporate sector, or providing a forum for Black Wisconsin residents to tell their stories, she has dedicated herself to building healthy communities in which people thrive and feel a sense of belonging.
She is an influential leader, guided by a strong sense of values and an intellectual curiosity that she cultivated at Beloit. As chief diversity officer for the Madison-based financial services company TruStage, she has brought diversity, equity, and inclusion forward as one of the organization’s core values and shared her expertise in public speaking engagements around the country. A former colleague refers to Angela as “a bridge builder” for her ability to recognize connections between people and ideas.
In 2018, Black Enterprise magazine named Angela one of our nation’s most powerful diversity executives.
Mark Pence’74
Mark Pence’74, representing the 50th reunion class, received the Distinguished Service Citation for his many contributions to his class and the college. He has served Beloit College as an outstanding advocate and supporter. His volunteer work has forged strong connections between the college and alumni, and among alumni, especially within the class of 1974. He has served as class agent, helping to organize and promote milestone reunions, and, this year, coordinated the planning committee for a 50th reunion class gift honoring the memory of nationally renowned disabilities advocate Marca Bristo’74.
Thanks in part to his efforts, the class of ’74 stands out as a vibrant group: active, organized, and prepared to come together with joy, generosity, and fellowship during their milestone reunions. Mark’s career and his volunteer service is a testament to his generous spirit and varied interests. He taught biology, chemistry, and physical anthropology at Springfield College in Illinois, then transitioned into computer consulting.
Since retiring in 2013, he has contributed his time and talents to advance key arts and cultural organizations in his community.
Fred Burwell’86
Fred Burwell’86 received the Joe Kobylka Award for his service to the archives and to the college. It is impossible to overstate his contributions as college archivist over a nearly 40-year tenure. Since assuming the role from the college’s second archivist, Robert H. Irrmann, in 1986, he has brought passion and a service orientation to the archives, protecting the college’s rich history while also bringing it to life for alumni, students, faculty, and the wider world.
While he was a student worker, Fred discovered Beloit’s archives behind a locked gate on the top floor of Morse Library. His innate curiosity for that place and, as he puts it, “the stuff of history,” led him to seek out Irrmann, the semi-retired archivist and legendary history professor who would prepare Burwell to become Beloit’s third archivist in 1986. He has been the go-to person for college history ever since.
Whether developing and writing Fridays with Fred — his beloved historical columns — leading campus tours, teaching students, or searching for solutions to historical puzzles, he has made Beloit’s past accessible, engaging, and relevant. With patience, good humor, and curiosity, he has raised the reputation and visibility of the archives and its role in the life of the college. He began welcoming classes into the archives shortly after assuming his role, exposing students to the thrill of working with primary sources and igniting in many a lifelong love of history.
