Reunion of UCalgary Engineering’s first graduating class

While happy memories of University of Calgary life a half-century ago had participants reminiscing fondly about the past, a reunion of the Faculty of Engineering’s first graduating class brought some high praise for the present as well.

“There were no women in our graduating class but you can tell from the tour around the new engineering complex that things have certainly changed in that regard,” says alumni Gordon Forbes, the class champion and point person who organized the reunion of the Class of 1969.

“That’s so wonderful to see.”

On the last day of May, Forbes took his place among 30 former classmates, who gathered at their old engineering school to talk about their time at UCalgary, and where their degrees took them in life.

The gathering of old friends attracted engineers from as far as California and started with a supper at Nick’s steakhouse on Crowchild Trail, one of the original meeting spots.

The next morning graduates were invited back to main campus for a full day’s itinerary.

It all kicked off with a breakfast in the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Engineering Complex, an engineering school that has transformed greatly since many of the grads last stepped foot on campus, both in terms of student demographic and physical space.

Alumni spent time in the student clubs wing, where they had the opportunity to sit in the latest vehicle models and chat with undergraduate engineering student leaders about their experiences building and racing cutting edge vehicles.

Next was a mini-lecture from two civil engineering veterans, Dr. Walter Dilger, PhD, and Dr. Amin Ghali, PhD, a moment made particularly memorable for alumni who had the professor emeriti as instructors back in the day.

The group then had a hands-on experience in the Make Multiplex 3D printing lab and a tour of the machine shop before gathering at The Den for lunch.

Known as Dinny’s Den when it opened in 1969, the Mac Hall bar was another campus spot with fond memories for the grads.

“It was so great to reconnect with some of the guys that I lost touch with, that I haven’t seen since graduating,” says Forbes.

Family was welcome at the evening dinner hosted by the Schulich School of Engineering where each grad was presented with an embroidered scarf, commemorative pin and a 3D printed nameplate.

A video presentation with original yearbook photos was shown and after, the group gathered for some fresh class photos.

Forbes also helped spearhead and create a Class of 1969 Scholarship in advance of the reunion to help create a legacy of their first graduating class and to help the next generation of engineering students.

Class reunions are a popular way to rekindle friendships and revisit Calgary, and the Schulich School of Engineering welcomes alumni back to campus throughout the year, with multiple classes holding reunions during the annual Alumni Weekend in September.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to connect with our alumni, many of whom continue to be actively engaged in our campus activities,” says Pam Bergsteinsson, manager of Alumni Relations.

Reunions that include a visit to campus provide a unique opportunity for alumni to see the vast changes to the engineering complex, learn about what we are doing and new ways of giving back.

Interested in connecting with your classmates? Learn more about planning a Schulich reunion and get started by connecting with pam.bergs@ucalgary.ca.