Celebrate your University at Homecoming 2004
The Promise set for October debut
History department opens lecture series with Egypt talk
Reminder: Business and Arts and Sciences events coming soon
U of M gears up for Southern Festival of Books
Upcoming alumni events
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Celebrate your University at Homecoming 2004

Show your True Blue pride by taking part in this year's Homecoming celebration! A parade, pep rally and a party will highlight this year's festivities, followed by the big game against Houston at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2.

The campus will come alive Friday afternoon, Oct. 1, as the parade hits the streets, ending in the Central Avenue parking lot. A pep rally will follow with appearances by President Shirley Raines and Coach Tommy West, musical group Ingram Hill, the Pom and Cheer Squads, Tom II and Pouncer. Friday's events are capped by an Alumni Association party at the campus Holiday Inn.

We hope you'll plan to attend these and other activities scheduled for Homecoming. Please visit http://www.memphis.edu/alumni/homecoming.html for details on all Homecoming events.

He gave us the dream. Who will keep the promise?

A contemporary opera based on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Promise premieres next month at the Germantown Performing Arts Center. The opera is a collaboration between composer Dr. John Baur, the University's Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, GPAC and the Department of Theatre and Dance that aims to encourage the world to continue on the path Dr. King showed us in his memorable words and deeds.

The Promise presents Dr. King as a great man who took risks even when unsure of the outcome, one who was willing to put the cause above his own personal safety because he truly believed that right would win out in the end.

The Promise will run Oct. 22-23 and 29-30. More information is available at the opera's Web site, http://www.baurthepromise.org.

Tickets are on sale now. Call 901/757-7256 or buy online at http://www.neweratickets.com or http://www.gpacweb.com.

Ramesses II (1300-1212 BC) was Egypt's greatest pharaoh, and his war record is glorified in huge battle scenes carved on the walls of the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak which Brand is recording. He was also a statesman and diplomat and signed the world's first state treaty. A trove of royal letters found in Turkey lets us peer into a world where diplomatic protocol and niceties were often ignored, and it offers a rare glimpse of the private Ramesses, a side of the pharaoh's personality not shown in public monuments.

This timely lecture will examine what motivated the world's first superpowers in the heat of battle and at the peace table. The talk will reveal how after 3300 years, global politics have not changed much.

The lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Fogelman Executive Center, room 136, and is free and open to the public.

The 12th Annual Fogelman College of Business and Economics Alumni Day Luncheon featuring speaker R. Brad Martin and award recipients T. Michael Glenn and Stevan Porter will be held Wednesday, Sept. 22. For details or to purchase tickets, please contact us at alumnievents@memphis.edu or 901/678-5314.

The College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Chapter's annual awards dinner recognizing Mark Luttrell Jr., Pat Lawler and Dr. Charles McNutt will be held Thursday, Sept. 23, at the Racquet Club of Memphis. For additional information or to purchase tickets, please contact us at alumnievents@memphis.edu or 901/678-5314.

Events on campus are being planned in conjunction with this year's Southern Festival of Books in downtown Memphis. The festival, which will be held Oct. 8-10 at the Cook Convention Center and Civic Plaza, features more than 200 authors, exhibitors and special events for children.

Two Continuing Education classes are on tap: one is a short course on the songs and stories Clyde Edgerton, a major southern writer who will be featured at the festival. A second class will lead students on a tour of Memphis' literary landmarks. You can register for these courses at http://www.coned.memphis.edu.

On Thursday, Oct. 7, student leaders, Campus School students and special guests will give brief readings from their favorite books outside the University Bookstore during the lunch hour. Later that afternoon, Deborah Talbot, a College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumna, will give a lecture on "The Three R's of Festivals," describing the role of festivals in community building. The lecture takes place at 4:30 p.m. in Johnson Auditorium and is free and open to the public.

The U of M will also maintain a presence at the festival with a booth displaying information about upcoming University events and books by our professors. President Shirley Raines, an expert in early childhood education, will be a "celebrity reader" on the Children's Stage from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9.

The festival is free and open to the public. More information about the festival is available on the Humanities Tennessee Web site at http://www.tn-humanities.org/sfbmain.htm.

Tiger Treks are in the works for all away games. Information is posted at http://www.memphis.edu/alumni/tigertrek.html as plans are finalized.

"Barn parties" will be held before the Tulane, Louisville and Southern Miss home games at the Fairgrounds barn next to the Liberty Bowl press box entrance. We'll be there two hours before kick off. Come by for food, music and fellowship. All are welcome.

Alumni Association staff member Emily Jones is headed to Washington D.C. Oct. 9-10 to meet and greet local alumni and begin planning activities for 2005.

UMAR will take a fall tour of campus, including the "Coming Home!" art exhibit, the FedEx Institute and the Heritage Room on Oct. 19. Come by and see what's happening at your University.

The 2004 Bandmasters Championship, sponsored by the Band chapter, will be held on Oct. 23 at Liberty Memorial Stadium. For information about registration or to volunteer, please contact Band Chapter President, Tonia Stinson.

For information on any of these events, please contact the Alumni Office at alumnievents@memphis.edu or 901/678-5314.

You can relive your college days by visiting the Heritage Room in Brister Hall on campus. The room contains approximately 150 items which reflect the history of the University. Memorabilia on display include yearbooks, lettermen jackets and sweaters, class photos, diplomas, football cleats, and much more. Photos documenting the integration of the University in the late 1950s are also on exhibit.

The Heritage Room is open on Monday and Thursday from 1:30 to 4 p.m. during the Fall and Spring semesters when classes are in session and on Thursday from 1:30 to 4 p.m. during the Summer session.