On July 14, Grinnell’s first Black woman graduate, Edith Renfrow Smith ’37, will mark her 110th birthday — an amazing milestone in a life of achievement, service, and generosity.

The College welcomed back alumni from across generations for its 144th Alumni Reunion Weekend, held from May 30 to June 2, 2024.

Nominated by their classmates and peers, recipients have distinguished themselves by their service to their careers, their community, and/or the College.

Grinnell alumni from 45 different classes — ranging from 1953 to 2019 — are returning to their alma mater for a weekend of reconnection.

At Omni Ecosystems in Chicago, Michael Davenport ’92 is leading the movement to create green roofs that prioritize biodiversity.

During the pandemic, Brian Smith ’94 made it his mission to support his fellow clergy as they lived with the reality of COVID, which kept them from physically being with their congregants.

Celina Karp Biniaz ’52 was a featured speaker at a recent event at the University of Southern California that honored Holocaust survivors — like Biniaz — who had recorded their testimony with the USC Shoah Foundation. Biniaz received USC’s prestigious University Medallion in a special ceremony on March 25.

While visiting Grinnell in February as a Mellon Foundation Humanities in Action Alumna scholar in residence, Irma McClaurin ’73 collaborated with students to build an archive of the Black Experience at Grinnell.

Scarlet & Give Back Day returns April 10-11. Your Scarlet & Give Back Day gift passes the baton to current and future Grinnellians. Those who care, strive, work for good, and innovate for the future. Students who will go on to become active, thoughtful citizens, and go forth with impact.

In the Oscar-nominated film “Killers of the Flower Moon,” movie enthusiasts can watch out for Josh Waddell ’97, who blends seamlessly into the world of 1920s Osage County, Oklahoma.