The UVA Alumni Association, in partnership with the Women’s Center and other UVA groups, is doing just that through “Retold,” a series of events and programs to mark the 50th and 100th anniversaries, including a free, virtual conference on Saturday.
“We wanted to create an initiative that would honor these significant anniversaries while celebrating the transformational impact of our 115,000 living alumnae in an enriching, inclusive way,” said Director of Alumni Programs Jess Hamilton, who developed Retold with Liz Crowder, associate director of alumni events and a 2015 UVA alumna. “‘Retold’ was born out of a desire to expand our collective understanding of women’s history at UVA by telling a nuanced, authentic story of women’s experiences, commemorate 50 years of full coeducation and celebrate the experiences of women whose time at the University preceded and followed that milestone.”
Hamilton and Crowder convened an alumnae steering committee and collaborated with the Women’s Center to create the event, also receiving support from the University community, from individuals to libraries, offices, centers and schools. A grant from the Jefferson Trust funded the virtual event platform that will be used to host Saturday’s Retold Virtual Experience.
This conference, like many of this year’s events, was going to be a three-day, in-person gathering, but has been reworked to be presented online as a virtual program. It requires registration that will give viewers access, for free, to a series of back-to-back sessions featuring alumnae-led conversations, intergenerational storytelling, student performances and more. The afternoon’s events, from noon to 5:30 p.m., will be broadcast live and will remain available online to registrants through Oct. 16.