Celebrating Discovery, Growth and Impact: OAC Officially Celebrates 150 Years During Alumni Weekend
Over 700 members of the OAC community came together on Saturday night to celebrate the College’s 150th anniversary during U of G’s annual Alumni Reunion Weekend. The OAC Celebration Dinner, held in the U of G’s Guelph Gryphon’s Athletic Centre gave a chance for alumni to reconnect with classmates and alumni throughout the decades in an atmosphere that resembled OAC’s infamous “Good Times Banquet.”
“Our 150th anniversary honors our past and looks forward with wide-eyed optimism and wonder about the bright and vibrant future we can create together,” said OAC’s interim dean John Cranfield. “This is our time. Let’s go share with the world all the things that make OAC and the University of Guelph great!”
Alumni from across the decades were in attendance, including those from the 1950’s all the way to the 2020 classes. U of G and OAC’s senior leadership team as well as members of the Order of OAC, Alumni Foundation, Alumni Association and the Landscape Architecture Alumni Association joined in on the celebration.
Flanked by former OAC deans, interim dean John Cranfield led the packed room to a raucous sing-a-long of OAC’s “College on the Hill.”
“As a founding college at the University of Guelph, OAC has a proud and rich legacy of developing leaders and cultivating innovation in the global agri-food sector,” said President Charlotte Yates during a speech. “The OAC has enriched Canada and the world through its ground-breaking innovations and outstanding alumni.”
In attendance were notable government officials from both the Federal and Provincial level, including:
- The Honourable, Senator Rob Black (OAC ’85)
- The Honourable, Rob Flack, Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Agribusiness (OAC ’79)
- The Honourable Lisa Thompson, Minister of Rural Affairs (BA-CoA, ’88)
- John Kelly, Deputy Minister OMAFRA
- Lloyd Longfield, MP for Guelph
- Dave Epp, MP for Chatham-Kent—Leamington
Congratulatory videos from the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were also played during the event.
The celebratory event was also a launching pad for a fundraising campaign to support OAC students and the next generation of agriculture and food leaders. Called the Next Generation Fund, OAC supporters Joe and Barbara Maxwell will match every donation, doubling contributions.
“This fund was created to make a lasting impact, fuel transformative student experiences, and empower the future leaders of our sector,” says John Cranfield.
OAC would like to thank the Grain Farmers of Ontario, MNP, AdFarm, FCC, Lactanet, the Ontario Institute of Agrologists and Sylvite for their support and contributions for their ongoing support for OAC’s 150th celebrations
For photos, view OAC’s Flickr account