Dear Sewanee Family,

What a great turnout we had for Family Weekend 2025! Though I often felt as if I were in a million places at once (including spending time with my own Sewanee student!), I loved connecting with so many of you. If you were able to join us, I hope you enjoyed every moment!

Most issues of From the Quad will be packed with news from multiple areas of campus, but we’re devoting this month’s newsletter exclusively to Family Weekend photos and recaps. Think of this as a special edition!

Before diving in, I’m excited to answer a pressing question. Yes, we’ve set a date for Family Weekend 2026! Mark your calendar for October 2-4, 2026. Registration will open in late summer!

I know the start of fall is moving quickly, but if you attended Family Weekend and are able to fill out this short follow-up survey, I’d really appreciate it. Your feedback is very important, so that Sewanee can continue delivering the best possible experience to parents and families. You deserve it!

We’re heading into an especially gorgeous season on the Domain, and I hope you’ll visit often. Don’t forget—you can find a full list of local accommodations at placestostay.sewanee.edu. You’re always welcome here!

Bess Turner, P’25, P’28
Director of Family & Donor Engagement

As the parent of two Sewanee alumni, Vice-Chancellor Rob Pearigen, C’76, is uniquely suited to greeting families on the Mountain! See his welcome address here.

Curious about how the vice-chancellor found his way back to Sewanee after a full-circle journey? Read more here.

Though classes have been in session for nearly three weeks, Advent Semester Convocation made the start of the academic year feel official! This year, Professor Emeritus of Religion Gerald L. Smith, P’15, delivered the convocation address and was awarded the Sewanee Medal. Read and view Smith’s remarks here.

We’re proud of our newest inductees into the Order of the Gown! See a list of all new members here.

Convocation was livestreamed, and the video is available here, along with full details about the ceremony.

In total, Family Weekend 2025 brought together more than 2,000 Sewanee parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends—a huge celebration! From the picnic on the Quad to our sold-out tailgate and new family mixer, it was the perfect occasion for making memories. Relive the day from start to finish through our photo album here.

If you’re the parent of a Sewanee freshman, your student has been especially busy lately! Not long ago, Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students Nicky Campbell, C’99, and Vice Provost and Dean of the College & Professor of Spanish Jennifer Cooley 

shared a detailed message describing how the Mountain has welcomed the Class of 2029. You can read their letter here. 

Aviation enthusiasts will tell you that Sewanee is distinctive not only for our extraordinary Domain and close-knit community, but also for our one-of-a-kind flying program. In partnership with the Franklin County Airport, the Sewanee Flying Tigers provides training

toward pilot certification. Catherine Cavagnaro heads the program, along with serving as a professor of mathematics and chair of the Computer Science Department. Cavagnaro provided our Family Weekend faculty address, which you can view here.

We'll be back with another info-filled issue of From the Quad in October. In the meantime, one more plea—if you participated in Family Weekend 2025, could you fill out this 4-question survey? We want to hear from you!