The College of Business will welcome back two of its founding fathers when it hosts a special alumni reunion on April 21.

Charles Handy and William Thompson will be honored for their contributions to the college at this year’s reunion, which will take place in the Gerdin Business Building.

“It is a testament to Drs. Handy and Thompson’s early leadership that we have become the school of choice for Iowa’s business students,” said Labh Hira, dean of the College of Business, in an open letter addressed to those involved with the reunion.

Handy is a professor emeritus of accounting, and was the first dean of the College of Business. Thompson is a professor emeritus of transportation and logistics and is a former head of the department of industrial administration.

Daniel Ryan, program coordinator for the College of Business, is particularly looking forward to this year’s reunion because both of the event’s honorees are still living and able to attend.

“We’re feeling really good because both of these gentlemen are still with us,” Ryan said.

Prior to this year, the reunions were held in memory of college figures who had passed away.

“They were very influential figures in the college’s history,” Ryan said of Handy and Thompson. “We’re excited about it.”

Jeremy Galvin, director of development for the ISU Foundation, thinks Handy’s and Thompson’s presence will be meaningful to many of the alumni attending the reunion.

“A lot of the alumni that I’ve gotten to know care more about the College of Business because of what Handy and Thompson did,” Galvin said. “It will be great to witness and see the impact that these two individuals had on their students back when they were teaching.”

Galvin said Handy’s and Thompson’s legacies also hold important lessons for current business students.

“This can teach current students the importance of those relationships with their professors and can show professors the benefit of establishing those relationships,” Galvin said.

The reunion will begin at 10 a.m. with optional tours of Gerdin Business Building, which opened in 2004. Alumni can then view the Veishea parade from a reserved seating area. Following the parade will be lunch and an alumni reception in Gerdin. The reunion is free and open to the public.