Class of 1975 returns for 50-year reunion

In 1975, the Vietnam War came to an end, classics “Jaws” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” made their cinematic debut, Microsoft was founded, and the Class of 1975 graduated from Eastern Connecticut State College. More than 30 of those graduates returned to campus — now renamed a university — on Oct. 17 to receive their Golden Diplomas and reconnect with classmates during their 50-year “jubilee” reunion.  

“When you graduated, this was a close-knit institution known for preparing the next generation of teachers and leaders,” said Eastern President Karim Ismaili. “That legacy continues today. We are still training exceptional educators who go on to inspire young minds across Connecticut.” 

Among those teachers was John Cascio ’75, senior class president, who spent his education career in New Haven, Wethersfield, and Newington. “Being on campus brings it all back … the memories are etched in our minds.”  

Cascio remembers the Vietnam War being a looming presence in his peers’ psyches. “There was a lot of concern over what we were going to do. ... We did our best to make campus feel like a community.”

Patricia Christiana ’75 served beside Cascio as the senior class vice president. Among her responsibilities included serving on the Hearing Board. “Everyone who got in trouble would come before us. That’s how I met all my friends,” she joked.   

Following graduation, Christiana worked as a teacher for a few years before moving to Aetna and then to the Senate Office at the State Capitol. She returned to Eastern in the 1990s for a master’s degree in organizational management.  

Andrew Cote ’75 came to Eastern through a special admissions program for students requiring additional preparation. “My parents didn’t have high hopes,” he said, “but Eastern retrained me.”  

Cote spent his career as a contracts administrator for aerospace companies Hamilton Standard and Pratt and Whitney, then as a research administrator at the University of Massachusetts. 

Despite his dyslexia, Cote appreciates being held to a high standard and not being permitted to hand in subpar work. “There was a great deal of discipline imposed. I had to do my best and do it right, or sink,” he said.  

“Eastern exposed us to the expansive world of thought, expressed by minds far superior to our own. They taught us how to research, organize data, and to communicate in a clear and objective manner.” 

Speaking of returning to campus, Cote said, “To see how Eastern has developed into a university with extensive faculty in all different disciplines ... looking at this growth and the quality, it makes me very proud to be associated with this institution.”  

When the Class of 1975 was on campus, Eastern was under the leadership of its fourth president, Charles Webb, and developments including the High Rise and Low Rise apartments, Sports Center, Student Center, and Planetarium were new constructions.   

Since then, the institution has undergone multiple building booms and developed into a full-fledged university.   

“Congratulations on your golden anniversary,” said President Ismaili to the Class of 1975 reunion-goers. “Thank you for the legacy you’ve built. You helped lay the foundation for everything Eastern has become — a university that continues to grow, to serve, and to inspire.”