The annual Moundbuilding Ceremony at Southwestern College will be on Thursday, Aug. 17, at 7 p.m., at the Cole Mound Plaza.  There is no admission charge and all students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the community is invited to attend. 

“This is a truly unique tradition that is best understood when experienced with the Builder Family,” said Elizabeth Frombgen, Southwestern College President.

This year marks the 96th time the college has gathered for the Moundbuilding Ceremony.  The event began in 1927 when Dean Leroy Allen led the students for the first time.  On the first Thursday of each school year, students gather at the Mound to hear Dean Allen's original speech. Then, students with their organizations, activities, and friends add rocks that they have painted and decorated.

“For many years Southwesterners have been known as ‘The Moundbuilders.’ But this was a mere figure of speech,” Allen said in 1927.  “Literally, they built no mounds. But now it is proposed that they actually do so in a solemn ceremony that will at once symbolize the traditional constructive tendencies of the College, and at the same time pledge the loyalty of faculty and students to Alma Mater.”

Following the ceremony, Grace United Methodist Church will serve Watermelon.  The Southwestern College football team will then hold their annual scrimmage at 8 p.m., in Richard L. Jantz Stadium. 

“The gathering is a particularly important moment for our students, but it is enriched by the participation of faculty, staff, coaches, alumni, friends and community – we all share a part in building the future of Southwestern College,” added Frombgen.