HOMECOMING AT HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY: The Tradition Returns to Campus.

More than 1,600 alumni and guests flocked to High Point University for Homecoming Weekend 2017. Alumni and their family members enjoyed many longstanding traditions, as well as new events at their alma mater.

Homecoming Weekend has previously been celebrated as Alumni Weekend, but the tradition of Homecoming returned this year with networking opportunities, class reunions, athletic events and student performances, as well as the presentation of the Homecoming Court.

Homecoming Weekend kicked-off with the annual Alumni Awards Ceremony, where 13 outstanding alumni were recognized for their work and service. HPU President Nido Qubein provided university updates to alumni and their family members at the ceremony. He shared details of the new 220,000-square-foot Congdon Hall, where the ceremony was held, while celebrating the university's sixth straight year at the top of U.S. News and World Report's Best Regional Colleges in the South List and its inclusion in Princeton Review's 382 Best Colleges in the nation.

"You're sitting in the midst of the American dream," Qubein said, referring to the university's newest facility. "The American dream is not a dream defined by money, but by the achievement of your own goals and your own spirited passion. You can go into any of these labs housed in the Congdon School of Health Sciences or the Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy, and you can hold these labs against the best in America on the finest campuses. There is nothing like them. This is the center of the American dream. You are seeing it, feeling it, and as alumni, I hope you are proud of it."

Alumni Honored for Success and Significance

Douglas S. Witcher '77, was awarded Alumnus of the Year. Witcher graduated from HPU with a degree in education. He then launched his career in the insurance industry. In 1994, he founded Triad-based Smart Choice, which has grown to become a major insurance network serving more than 6,300 agencies in 45 states.

Witcher is an avid supporter of many different causes in the community, including serving on the boards and organizations of High Point Regional Hospital, High Point Chamber of Commerce, High Point Community Foundation, Hospice of the Piedmont, the United Way of Greater High Point and more. He currently serves on the HPU Board of Trustees, as the advancement committee chair and executive committee member.

"HPU has expanded dramatically since I was a student here, but one thing has remained the same--the university...