Wilberforce University Alumni Weekend Boosts Local Businesses
More than 1,000 Gather in Greene County
A big, successful Dawn Dance celebration for Wilberforce University welcomed more than 1,000 alums, prospective students, and friends for on and off-campus events in Greene County from March 29, 2023, to April 1, 2023. Dawn Dance is the traditional invitation for alums to return to their alma mater to celebrate the spring season and honor Wilberforce, the nation’s first private historically Black college/university (HBCU).
The weekend’s highlights began with a fashion show featuring Nubiance, a student-led modeling company. Events then advanced to a chapel service that included the university chorale and a reception with ’07 alum, master poet Jay Martinez.
Nearly 400 guests attended Preview Day. These visitors are prospective students and their families who visited the campus for tours and presentations. Among those who spoke, Provost Dr. Emily Lewis, President Elfred Anthony Pinkard, Ms. Gernisha Parnell, director of The Center for Academic Support and Student Success (CASS), the university’s center for student success, and alums who are now employed by Dawn Dance event sponsors PNC Bank and the local law firm, Wright and Schulte, LLC.
Cheerleaders offered a special welcome, and the WU marching band, the Hounds of Sound, strutted that blazing, rhythmic flair. The Saturday evening wrapped up with a sold-out, HBCU-style Greek fraternity and sorority step show with more than 500 people in attendance.
These events not only drove campus interaction, but according to the city of Xenia’s economic development coordinator, 1,000 extra people in the campus area over the weekend can create what is known as the multiplier effect.
“That many people coming to an area for a weekend has a positive effect on the local hotels, restaurants, and shops,” said Steven Brodsky. “You hope that they have enjoyed themselves enough to want to come back to this area.”
Over the years, Wilberforce has helped bring additional income to the Greene County area. One study by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) estimated that Wilberforce University has driven approximately $124 million in economic spending to the region annually and has the capability of creating more than 1,000 jobs.
This is the first in-person Dawn Dance in the three years since the COVID-19 pandemic closed many public events. The annual weekend is rivaled only by the fall season’s homecoming festivities.
The university acknowledges the residents and business owners in Greene County and the surrounding communities for their warm hospitality during the fun-filled weekend.
For more details, contact Marsha Bonhart at 937-286-0023.
