Eight decades of learning, opportunity and an enduring connection to the Mohawk Valley.
Utica University has been part of the Mohawk Valley for 80 years, but its connection to this community goes all the way back to the beginning.
In September 1946, local leaders and hundreds of residents gathered at Hotel Utica to celebrate the opening of the city’s first institution of higher learning. This September, Utica University will return to that same historic downtown setting to celebrate its 80th anniversary.
The 80th Anniversary Community Dinner will be held Wednesday, September 30, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Historic Hotel Utica, exactly 80 years after the University’s first Convocation ceremony.
It is a fitting place to mark the occasion. Eight decades ago, Hotel Utica was where the community came together to welcome a new college and recognize what an institution of higher learning could mean for Utica and the surrounding region.
Utica University opened in 1946 at a time when higher education was out of reach for many young people in the area. Having a college in Utica meant students could pursue an education closer to home, opening doors to opportunities that had not been available to generations before them.
The school’s earliest days looked very different from the University we know today, but its relationship with the region was there from the very start.
Over the next eight decades, generations of students passed through its classrooms and went on to build lives and careers here in the Mohawk Valley and far beyond it. The University grew and changed along the way, becoming part of the lives of countless people and families throughout the region.
The Mohawk Valley helped shape the University, too. From those who supported the idea of a college in Utica in its earliest years to the businesses, organizations, alumni and friends who continue to support its students today, that relationship has always extended beyond campus.
That shared history is what makes the 80th anniversary more than a University milestone. It is part of our region’s story, too.
Returning to Hotel Utica brings that story back to one of the places where it began. The anniversary dinner will bring together alumni, friends and supporters to remember the University’s early years, celebrate the generations who followed and look ahead to what comes next.
The celebration will also support today’s students. Proceeds will benefit student activities, conference participation and other opportunities that give students experiences and connections beyond the classroom.
A lot has changed since hundreds of people gathered at Hotel Utica to welcome a new college in 1946. Eighty years later, gathering there again is a meaningful way to celebrate that history, the generations who have been part of it and an enduring connection between Utica University and the Mohawk Valley.
80TH ANNIVERSARY COMMUNITY DINNER
Wednesday, September 30, from 6-9p.m.
DoubleTree by Hilton Historic Hotel Utica.
Tickets $250
Tickets may be purchased online at utica.edu/community-dinner or by calling (315) 792-3053.
