President’s Column: Excitement Builds For Wildcat Weekend

When I began serving as president during the heat of July, many folks on campus kept saying, “Just wait for fall, it’s the best time of year at Chico State.”

Now, as I walk our beautiful campus each day, it’s finally beginning to feel like autumn, and I understand what they were talking about.

In addition to cooler weather, the hoodies and sweatshirts (preferably repping Chico State), and the changing colors of the leaves, fall at Chico State means Wildcat Weekend, which is coming up on October 12–14.

Wildcat Weekend is our three-day celebration that brings alumni home, parents and guardians in to visit their students, and prospective students and their families (as part of Wildcat Preview) together to celebrate everything this University has to offer.

It is my hope that everyone who attends Wildcat Weekend—including faculty and staff—will feel the energy and spirit that make our campus a special place. I want our prospective students to get a feel for what it is like to be a Wildcat, and leave feeling excited to learn from and work with our exceptionally talented and dedicated faculty and staff. I hope our alumni fully enjoy coming back to reminisce about some of the best years of their lives, see all the enhancements to the campus, and, most of all, know that they are always part of the Chico State family.

This will be Tanya and my first Wildcat Weekend, and here are some of the events we are looking forward to:

Joy of Learning, our annual showcase of extraordinary faculty giving short presentations on what they do best: engaging, enlightening, and inspiring our campus community. Topics for this year’s presentations include everything from ultracold atoms to machine learning and AI, and mindfulness. Best of all, Joy of Learning can be viewed both live and online at 9 a.m. on Friday, October 13, in the ARTS Recital Hall.

The Art and Wine Walk on October 13, will take participants into downtown Chico, an integral part of campus life, where they will find wine and beer tastings, art showcases, live music, and more.

Throughout the weekend, there will be theater and comedy events, a women’s volleyball match, and art and science museums will be open. We will cap off the weekend with a barbecue and concert on the Kendall Hall Lawn on October 14.

I plan to be at as many of these celebrations as possible and am excited to connect with all of you at Wildcat Weekend. Thank you for helping to roll out the red carpet to all our guests and reminding them that Chico State is an incredible place.