Buena Vista University (BVU) will be celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.

In order to commemorate this event, a committee was created to organize events and strategize ways to incorporate the event into activities throughout the year. Emily Williams, Assistant to the President, is the chair of this committee and Jennifer Felton, Director of Marketing and Communications, is a member of the committee.

“It’s been about a year in the making,” Williams commented, regarding the planning that went into the anniversary celebration.

The committee meets every 2-3 weeks in order to prepare for the next event that is planned. The anniversary committee has focused on weaving the 125th anniversary into all events on campus. The official kick-off for the celebration was Buenafication Day and festivities like parades, special chapel services, and events during Family Weekend and Homecoming will take place over the next few months. The anniversary will be finalized at the student Christmas dinner in December.

“We wanted to include not only the community that is here, but [also groups like] the Cornerstone Guard group, which is alumni that would have a 50-year reunion or more, would come back for a summer reunion so we could celebrate [the 125th anniversary] with them while they’re here” Felton said. “We could celebrate it with families when they come for welcome weekend, and we can celebrate it at commencement before the students leave.”

“It was the best way I think to capture all of our stakeholders versus just celebrating it once and whoever could come would come” Felton said.

On May 4, an anniversary celebration at the arch will be take place. The event is from 5-6 PM and is open to the community. There will be a commemorative photo taken with students involved in BVU clubs and organizations. Felton and Williams hope for a lot of participation in order to make the event memorable and a success.

The committee’s archivist, Joan Curbow, has been curating information about BVU’s history in order to do a social media campaign that focuses on the history of BVU. There is also going to be a BV Today article that includes 125 facts or quotes about the history of BVU.

“Hopefully it will become more about the people and less about the institution’s history,” Felton said. “Because it’s really the people that makes this place special and it always has been.”