ITHACA, N.Y. -- As many as 6,000 Cornellians and their families will be on campus Thursday, June 9, through Sunday, June 12, for Cornell's Reunion 2005.

The earliest alumni class planning special events this year is the Class of 1930. Two returning alumni -- Roger Abell of Clarence, N.Y., and Sidney Kaufman of Houston -- will be attending their 75th reunion. Kaufman plans to make the trip by driving, from Houston, noted an impressed Margaret Gallo, director of class and reunion programs in the Office of Alumni Affairs.

Reunion has become more family oriented in recent years, Gallo said. About 600 children also will be on campus, joining their parents and families as approximately 4,000 returning alumni catch up with former classmates and enjoy activities, entertainment and renewing their ties to Cornell during the long weekend.

This year's featured Reunion Weekend events include the annual Olin Lecture, Friday, June 10, at 3 p.m. in Newman Arena, Bartels Hall. The Olin Lecture, which is open to the public, will be given by Cornell President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes. Rhodes will speak about "On Coming Home: Reunion With an Elderly Parent," and he plans to address reconnecting not just with Cornell as an alma mater , but also with the landscape of the Earth itself as a terra mater , our parent planet. Rhodes will draw on his experience as a professor emeritus of geology to look at the impact humans have had on the Earth and how universities, in partnership with other sectors, can preserve our fragile planet's resources and sustainability. The Olin Lecture was established by the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Foundation in 1986.

Cornell President Jeffrey S. Lehman will deliver the State of the University Address to alumni Saturday, June 11, at 10:30 a.m., also in Newman Arena. All registered alumni and their guests will be welcome.

Many reunion classes have scheduled discussion forums for Friday morning, and Gallo pointed out that the subjects are very much tied to the ages and concerns of those classes. For instance, the Class of 1975 will be discussing "Can That Really Be You? How Cornell Life Influenced Where We Are Today"; the Classes of 1965 and 1970 are co-sponsoring a forum, "Graying Baby Boomers and American Business, Politics and Culture"; and the Class of 1950 is hosting a forum, "Rewired, Not Retired."

As always, a great variety of traditional reunion activities for alumni and their families have been planned for the four-day weekend, including university, college and class tours and gatherings, as well as numerous symposiums and lectures, concerts, picnics, banquets, dancing and sporting events.

The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra will be performing for the Class of 1950's dinner dance in Barton Hall Friday night. From 9 to 11 p.m., the concert and dance floor will be open to all registered alumni and their guests wearing a Reunion 2005 button. Also on Friday and Saturday evenings, the Arts Quad will come alive with bands and orchestras. On Saturday, the Arts Quad will be host to Fun in the Sun, the annual picnic lunch filled with family activities.

Cornelliana Night will take place Saturday, beginning at 9:30 p.m. in Newman Arena and will feature the Alumnae Chorus and Alumni Glee Club singing songs of Cornell. Reunion attendance and giving will be recognized.

Other highlights include the 11th annual Reunion Weekend book signing, featuring noted alumni and faculty authors, in the Cornell Store on Ho Plaza, Saturday, June 11, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and an open house for the solar-powered house Cornell's Solar Decathlon Team is building for the U.S. Department of Energy's international Solar Decathlon competition in Washington, D.C., in October. The solar house, being completed at Cornell's High Voltage Lab at 109 Mitchell St., will be open Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for alumni. The annual "video portrait" showings by videographers Phil and Maddy Handler are scheduled for Friday, June 10.

A number of athletic events are also on the schedule for the weekend, including the Tenth Annual Alumni Baseball Game at Hoy Field Saturday, June 11. The National Anthem will be sung and the players will be introduced at 10:30 a.m.; the first pitch is 10:40 a.m. Ted Thoren, former Cornell baseball coach, has organized this event since 1996. This event is open to the public.