A letter to the Class of 1972
Greetings,
It is hard to believe that it has been 50 years since we received our degrees from VCU. They say “time flies when you are having fun,” so we must have had much more fun than we ever realized. My wife recently headed some college reunion activities for her school, and it has me reflecting back to June 3, 1972, our graduation day.
Ours was the first class to go four complete years through the combined university that resulted from the consolidation of RPI and MCV. 2,400 students were to receive their degrees and it took one-half hour for us to finally take our seats in the Richmond Coliseum that day. Sen. Gale McGee was the commencement speaker, and long-time Rector Robert Wilson was retiring.
And it’s amazing to think of the impact our class has had since that day: the lives that have been saved by the physicians and nurses; the teeth that have been fixed; the taxes prepared by the CPAs; students taught and lives that have been changed by those teachers, social workers, psychologists, pharmacists and others within that group of college graduates.
While, no doubt, many of the VCU graduates would have been successful if they had not had that VCU degree, I like to think that it has made a difference in very many lives. I know that it has had a significant impact on my life.
We graduated in 1972 and coincidentally I will turn 72 this year, a time when I will need to start taking required minimum distributions from my IRA/401(k) accounts. My wife and I donated to the Siegel Center construction, and our names are included in the lower bottom right panel of the glass donor wall in that building. However, I realize that my giving to VCU has become a little lax these past few years. Maybe it’s time for me to start giving something back, in money and volunteer time, to the university that has meant so much to us all, and continues to serve us, and the community, in so many ways still today. I hope you’ll join me in honor of this momentous occasion.
Cheers to 50 years,
Floyd Lane
School of Business, Class of 1972
P.S. As 1972 alumni, we are now part of a special group, VCU Golden Alumni. View some exciting opportunities coming up just for us.
Categories Alumni