Ambrosians will send a message to the future during Homecoming 2013.
In a 10 a.m. ceremony on Sept. 28 at the newly renovated Beehive in Ambrose Hall, a time capsule will be packed with items intended to provide a snapshot of who we are and what St. Ambrose stands for in 2013.
The capsule eventually will be returned to the Ambrose Hall cornerstone. That's where a tin box of items was placed when the building opened in 1885. It was removed and its contents were revealed in May of this year.
The new time capsule won't be opened until 2082, when St. Ambrose celebrates its 200th anniversary.
"I believe Ambrosians of the future will be interested in learning about the values that defined this great university at this moment in our history, and they will be even more interested in learning about the people who helped advance those values," said Sr. Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD, president of the university.
The people of St. Ambrose had a say about the items that will be placed in the time capsule. Suggestions were solicited via social media earlier this month, and Ambrosians deemed to have made the five best suggestions will participate in the Sept. 28 ceremony.
Several publications-including copies of Scene magazine, The Buzz student newspaper, a campus directory, a 2013 catalog of classes and a signed copy of Fr. George McDaniel's seminal SAU history, A Great And Lasting Beginning: The First 125 Years of St. Ambrose University-may be placed in the capsule.
Also included will be a presidential medallion from Sr. Joan, a set of 2013 coins from the U.S. Treasury, and printed copies of pictures showing St. Ambrose as it is today.
A flash drive containing digital copies of such significant documents as the Master Plan developed in 2010 and the recently completed economic impact report also will be placed in the capsule. But SAU Curator Heather Lovewell said it is difficult to predict whether technology in 2082 will have rendered USB ports as obsolete as floppy disk readers are today.
What is certain is that Ambrosians of the future will gain a better understanding of their not-too-distant history when they open the time capsule.
"I think of this whole thing as a care package to the future," Lovewell said.
The ceremony will be part of a busy weekend of events surrounding Homecoming 2013.
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