By Nicole Lyons, October 16, 2025
The Marching Mules make their way down Holden Street during the 2024 Homecoming parade.
This year’s Homecoming festivities will take place Oct. 24-25.
The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is rolling out the red carpet for alumni during Homecoming festivities Oct. 20-25.
UCM will celebrate 2025 Homecoming, themed “Lights, Camera, Central,” with a weeklong celebration. The public is invited to several events on Friday, Oct.
24, and Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Warrensburg campus.
On Friday, the UCM Alumni Foundation will host the Homecoming Hub from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Elliott Student Union Auditorium. This one-stop shop
for all things Homecoming will feature refreshments, UCM trivia and bingo, giveaways,
photo opportunities, campus tours and a chance to browse the Fashion and Apparel Merchandising program’s pop-up shop. Plus, the classes of 2015, 2000 and 1975 and the Library Science program’s 50th anniversary will be recognized. For a full schedule and to register,
visit ucmfoundation.org/homecoming25.
Actor and Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Brian Thomas Smith, class of 2000,
best known for his role as Zack Johnson on “The Big Bang Theory,” will conduct a Q&A at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the Highlander Theatre. The talk is free and open to the public,
and seating is first-come, first-served.
On Saturday morning, stop by Selmo Park to purchase coffee or breakfast from several
food trucks during Party in the Park from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A community favorite, the Homecoming parade begins at 9 a.m. at Holden and Clark streets. The parade will continue north on Holden
Street, moving through campus toward downtown Warrensburg. The route turns east onto
Gay Street, then south onto College Street, ending at the intersection of College
and South streets.
The fun at Selmo Park continues after the parade with live music by Kansas City band
KC FLO, a beer garden, bounce houses, photo opportunities and food trucks. Selmo Park
is a designated tailgating area, so visitors can bring their own food and drinks or
purchase items from vendors. This year, all UCM Athletics Homecoming tailgates will be in Selmo Park instead of at the stadium and the Achauer House. Attendees
will be able to cheer on the Mules as they cross the park to the stadium.
Everyone who pre-registers at ucmfoundation.org/homecoming25 will receive a complimentary drink ticket (ages 21+) and be entered to win prizes.
Guests who check in at the UCM Alumni Foundation’s booth at Party in the Park will
also be entered to win.
Mules Football will take on the Emporia State Hornets at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Audrey J. Walton
Stadium. Tickets are available at the box office on game day or at ucmathletics.com.
Friday’s schedule also includes the Distinguished Alumni Dinner. Since 1978, the UCM Alumni Foundation has presented the Distinguished Alumni Awards annually to recognize outstanding UCM graduates.
The 2025 honorees are Adam M. Freeman, '09, '10, recipient of the Distinguished Alumni
Award for Early Achievement; Elizabeth A. Fenner, '68, '71, recipient of the Distinguished
Alumni Award for Service; Diane L. Dudley, '81, '23, recipient of the Distinguished
Alumni Award; and Brian Thomas Smith, '00, recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award.
Adam Freeman’s interest in planes began in his youth, and UCM’s reputation for aviation made his college choice an easy one. While earning his bachelor’s degree in Flight Operations Management, Adam Freeman also earned his Commercial Pilot Certificate with Instrument Rating. After graduating in 2009, he went on to earn a master’s in Aviation Safety a year later.
Freeman started his career as an airport operations officer at Sloulin Field International
Airport in Williston, North Dakota. He then moved back to his hometown of Kansas City,
Missouri, to work as an airport operations agent at Kansas City International Airport
(MCI).
After a few years at MCI, Freeman served as airport operations manager at Rosecrans
Memorial Airport in St. Joseph, Missouri, for nearly seven years before assuming the
role of airport manager at Kansas City’s Wheeler Downtown Airport. He now serves as
the deputy director of aviation operations, maintenance and security for MCI under
Director of Aviation Melissa Cooper, a fellow UCM alum.
Freeman is a certified member of the American Association of Airport Executives and
president of the Missouri Airport Managers Association. For him, aviation is more
than a career; it’s a lifelong passion. He resides in Kansas City, Missouri, with
his wife, Bailey, and their daughter.
Elizabeth “Liz” (Bertz) Fenner graduated at the top of her class from Lexington (Missouri) High School in 1951 and received a full-tuition scholarship to William Jewell College. After one year, she married her high school sweetheart, D.E. Fenner, and transferred to UCM.
Once their three daughters were in school, Fenner finished her degree in Elementary Education and began her career teaching fourth grade in the Richmond school system. In 1971,
she earned her master’s in Library Science and became the district’s elementary media
specialist, leading schools into the “computer age.”
After retiring in 1993, Fenner was elected to the board of directors of the United
Methodist Church’s world mission arm. This led her to Africa, Papua New Guinea, Australia,
Austria, Nicaragua, the Holy Land and numerous U.S. cities. Her love of travel and
mission work has taken her to every continent except Antarctica, with more than 15
trips to Europe.
At home, Fenner has been a leader in the Lexington Food Pantry, Lexington Community
Betterment, LIVE! in Lexington and the Lexington Arts Council. She dotes on her five
grandchildren — four of whom attended UCM — and five great-grandchildren and says
that, through service, she has lived life to the fullest.
Growing up on a farm in Higginsville, Missouri, Diane (Schemmer) Dudley became interested in helping her father maintain the farm's financial records. She pursued an Accounting degree at UCM, where she met and married Chuck Dudley, ’80.
After graduating in 1981, Dudley took a job at what is now KPMG in Kansas City. In
just one decade, she transferred to the Washington, D.C., office and became a partner,
growing the federal audit practice from two partners in 1992 to more than 400 employees
when she retired in 2020.
In 2023, Dudley earned her MBA with an emphasis in finance, and the following year, she was appointed to the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory
Board. She was also appointed to the Government Accountability Office’s Accountability
Advisory Council.
Dudley served on the UCM Alumni Foundation Board of Directors from 2013 to 2023, including
two years as president. She also joined the Accounting Advisory Board for the Harmon
College of Business and Professional Studies.
Dudley and her husband served as co-chairs of a UCM alumni group in Washington, D.C.
They contribute to the university’s unrestricted Central Annual Fund, have established
two scholarship endowments and have made a planned estate gift.
The Dudleys now live in Missouri again, along with their two sons.
Before he appeared on screen, Brian Thomas Smith could be found behind the camera, videotaping skits for UCM’s Central TV. A St. Louis native, he enrolled at UCM to study film and broadcasting.
After adding a Theatre minor and graduating in 2000, Smith moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career.
He has appeared in more than 100 commercials, including a Heineken ad with Jennifer
Aniston in 2003 and memorable campaigns for Bud Light, Chevy, Progressive Insurance
and DirecTV — where his character, Phil Shifley, became a fan favorite.
In 2005, Smith and his brother, Greg, earned a spot on the reality TV show “The Amazing
Race.”
Smith is best known for recurring for nine seasons as Zack Johnson on the hit sitcom
“The Big Bang Theory.” He continues in season 2 of the Apple TV series “Bad Monkey.”
His TV credits also include “Two and a Half Men,” “Happy Endings,” “The Neighborhood,”
“NCIS,” “United States of Al,” “9-1-1: Lone Star” and “Shrinking.”
In film, Smith has appeared with Al Pacino and Annette Bening in “Danny Collins” and
in independent features such as “For When You Get Lost,” “Babysplitters” and “Big
Muddy.”
Smith resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Maggie, and their three children.
For more information about Homecoming activities, visit ucmfoundation.org/homecoming or ucmo.edu/homecoming.