Reunion FAQs

25th (Class of 2001) and 50th (Class of 1976) reunions will be held during Commencement and Milestone Reunion Weekend, Friday, May 22-Monday, May 25, 2026. 

Alumni in our 5th (Classes of '20, '21, and '22), 20th (Classes of '05, '06, and '07), 40th (Classes of '85, '86, and '87), and 55th (Classes of '70, '71, and '72) clusters will hold reunions Friday, October 9-Sunday, October 11, 2026, during homecoming weekend.

Oberlin embraces the mutual goals of providing graduating students with a commencement celebration of the highest caliber and hosting reunions that provide alumni with meaningful opportunities for them to connect with one another, students, and the college.

To accomplish both goals within available resources, splitting reunions is necessary. In the tradition of the 50th class participating in Oberlin’s annual commencement ceremony, and in acknowledgment of a traditional 25th reunion milestone, Oberlin will celebrate both the milestone 25th and 50th reunions during Commencement Weekend.

In considering a time to hold remaining cluster reunions, fall Homecoming Weekend provides an opportune setting. The campus is full of activity and special events that allow alumni to celebrate and reflect upon their own time on campus while experiencing the Oberlin of today. Homecoming weekend carries an unambiguous invitation: return home to Oberlin, whatever that may mean to you. 

Reunions celebrated in the fall and spring will have a similar look and feel. Attendees, regardless of when their reunion is scheduled, will enjoy classmate presentations, memorial services, meals, performances, nights at the 'Sco, and plenty of other opportunities to interact with fellow classmates and students. 

Many reunion-specific activities are planned by alumni volunteers. When reunion classes have active planning committees, a greater breadth of programming becomes available. If you would like to propose an idea or serve on your reunion planning committee, please send an email to alumni@oberlin.edu.

The decision to transition to off-campus accommodations for reunion classes was not made lightly, and included an extensive review of the college's operational capacity, resources, and alumni experience. 

The college carefully reviewed the significant costs, logistical challenges, and overall effectiveness of providing dormitory housing for reunion alumni, including the need to relocate students and prepare residence halls on a very compressed timeline between the end of classes and Commencement and Reunion Weekend. This review began at the beginning of 2020, almost immediately prior to the start of COVID-19, which presented its own challenges to reunions and housing in 2020 and for several years after due to the lingering impacts of the pandemic. 

From 2020-2025, the Sustainable Infrastructure Program also impacted the campus footprint as many buildings, including dormitories, were offline due to construction. Other considerations included:

• Safely preparing 23 residence halls between the end of spring classes and Commencement and Reunion Weekend created severe logistical strain.
• A small campus team cannot safely or adequately support 4,000 simultaneous weekend guests, including 800 graduates, their families, and multiple reunion classes.
• The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a necessary, permanent alignment of campus events with available infrastructure and staff resources.
• Formal and informal data consistently showed that alumni were highly dissatisfied with the current dormitory experience.

Oberlin has since permanently restructured the reunion calendar:

• Commencement and Reunion Weekend in May now exclusively hosts the 25th and 50th milestone reunions.
• Cluster Reunions have permanently moved to Homecoming Weekend in the fall, which allows for additional regional lodging options within a 30-minute drive of campus. This schedule creates opportunities for cluster reunion alumni to attend live classes, engage with current students, and experience modern campus life.

You are welcome to arrange your own hotel and transportation, but complimentary shuttles will only be available from the hotels where the college has room blocks held. 

Tent camping and RV hookups will not be available, as we make way for Oberlin's Sustainable Infrastructure Project (SIP). Guests interested in camping are welcome to look for options near campus. Findley State Park, about 17 minutes south of Oberlin, is one such option.

The College is unable to provide transportation to and from Cleveland Hopkins airport due to the volume of alumni and guests we are anticipating at various times and the resources it would require to offer transportation.

Airport Oberlin Shuttle offers transportation from the airport to campus.

For other transportation options, please visit Airports and Grounds Transportation.

While reunion events will be designed with reunion classes and clusters in mind, many scheduled campus activities are open to all alumni, from Illumination, to concerts, campus productions, and special programs.

Yes. If you have a guest, partner, or spouse in a different reunion year, please add them when you register. They will be recognized as part of your registration.

While children are welcome to attend many campus and reunion activities, we are unable to provide activities that are specifically for our younger visitors. 

If you plan to bring children to any of your reunion meals, please let us know so that we can plan accordingly. You are not required to register them as your guest as part of your reunion registration, or pay fees for their attendance at meals. 

You can get in touch with our office by sending an email to alumni@oberlin.edu, to let us know which meals you plan on attending and how many children you are bringing. 

The reunion registration fee for fall 2026 is $50 for 5th cluster reunion alumni, and early bird pricing for all other reunion alumni is $65 through 9/25/26 - this will increase to $75 until registration closes on 10/1/26. 

Meals provided by the College during the weekend cost between $15.00 and $45.00 per person. You can see the cost for each meal when you register. (As always, the town of Oberlin has a variety of places for you to dine if you choose not to purchase meals during your registration.)

A nominal fee is charged for some of the concerts and performances during the weekend, and usually range from $20.00 to $25.00, and there are also performances that are complimentary.

By attending the event, you acknowledge and agree that you may be photographed or recorded, and that these images or recordings may be used by Oberlin College.