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Fall Newsletter
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From the ACL President
Dear Class Leader,
As we enter the Thanksgiving season, I want to express my sincere gratitude to you for your tremendous commitment to Brown and the incredible work you are doing to make Brown such a vibrant and dynamic institution and community.
Your leadership and dedication is critical to the vitality of the Brown Alumni Association and the University as a whole. As always, this newsletter is intended to tell you a bit about events and activities on campus and throughout the Brown community at large, especially the recent highly successful (and very fun) Alumni Fall Weekend and the important Diversity and Inclusion initiative by the Association of Class Leaders (ACL) Board.
In particular, the goal of the ACL Board’s initiative is to promote diversity throughout class leadership groups, including by gender, race, and ethnic diversity, as well as age, socio-economic background, disability, and first-generation status. In that regard, I am very pleased to report that with the addition of six new members, whose terms began on July 1, the ACL Board itself is now more diverse than it has ever been.
On behalf of the ACL Board, thank you again for your tremendous leadership, energy, and hard work to keep your classmates engaged and connected to one another and to Brown.
Ever true,
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Steve Owens ’78, P’17
President, Association of Class Leaders
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Alumni Fall Weekend in Review
More than 300 alumni volunteers returned to College Hill September 28-29 for the 2018 Alumni Fall Weekend. Enjoying the early fall weather, volunteers took advantage of an array of opportunities to learn from each other, find out about the terrific things that are happening at Brown, enjoy campus tours, and celebrate the successes of their fellow volunteers.
Building Community: A Roundtable Discussion
During the Volunteer Kickoff Session held in Sayles Hall on Saturday morning, class leaders and other volunteers broke out in simultaneous conversations centered around building community through class identity, regional programming, volunteer engagement, digital/interactive communities, and financial aid.
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Please see below for detailed summaries of these lively discussions:
Alumni Recognition Ceremony and Brunch
During the Alumni Recognition Ceremony held on Ruth Simmons Quad, the Association of Class Leaders Class of the Year Awards were presented to the Classes of 1978 and the Class of 2003. The awards are given each year to the Brown class or classes that most effectively engage classmates through quality, variety, and creativity in class communications, activities, and leadership.
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The Class of 1978, represented at the ceremony by class officers Steve Owens, Patsy Dimm, David Paul, Michael Ursillo, and Lionel Romain worked tirelessly to plan a tremendously successful 40th Reunion. They not only reached record-breaking attendance numbers, but they also set three new fundraising records for the 40th Reunion by raising over $1.9 million for the Reunion Class Gift with a 43.3% participation rate and 33 gifts of $10,000 or more (Carrie Tower Society Leader level).
The Class of 2003, represented at the ceremony by class officers Dania Matos and Benjamin Daley, did an exceptional job driving participation for Brunonians Pay It Forward Day with their engaging communications and by spearheading class-based challenges. They earned the top spot for reunion class participation and the second spot for participation among all alumni classes.
Congratulations to these outstanding classes!
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Your Class Leader Toolkit: Updated!
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Your go-to guide for planning class events, managing class communications, and preparing for your reunion has been updated with 2018-19 deadlines and useful best practices.
Use the Class Leader Toolkit (pdf) as your main resource for all things volunteer-related, and when in doubt, contact your Alumni Relations class liaison.
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Save the Date for Thursday, March 14, 2019
Brown Volunteer Summit | New York City
Please mark your calendar for the fourth annual Volunteer Summit to connect, share ideas, and gain an inside perspective on the incredible things happening at Brown. This year the summit will be held at a spectacular new meeting site, Apella, located in Manhattan and overlooking the East River. More details to come!
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Nan Tracy ’46 Award: Nominations Are Open
The Nan Tracy ’46 award is given annually to a class leader who has provided distinguished service to his/her class, the Association of Class Leaders, and/or the University. The award was established in 1990 in honor of Nan Tracy ’46, the former Alumni Relations reunion coordinator. Brunonians are invited to submit nominations for this prestigious award, which will be presented at the Brown Volunteer Summit in New York City on March 14, 2019.
Nominations for the award are due December 1.
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Or mail it to us: submit your nomination using the printable nomination form (pdf).
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Join the Conversation on Facebook
The Association of Class Leaders Facebook page is your place to:
- Discuss and share information with fellow leaders
- Read best practices and tips
- View photos from ACL events
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Ask the Expert: Elena Gerli ’90
How can you create diverse and inclusive class events?
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The Chair of the ACL Diversity and Inclusion Initiative Committee shares her tips on planning events that are welcoming to all members of the broad Brown constituency.
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The University is putting a great deal of resources into the Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP). Diversity is one of our great strengths here at Brown, as was demonstrated in the record-breaking success of the 2018 Black Alumni Reunion. We on the ACL Board applaud and support this effort because we strongly believe in the importance of creating an inclusive environment that welcomes and celebrates our very diverse community.
Class leaders organize reunions and work to keep the class connected between reunions. Here are a few ideas that can jumpstart your efforts on creating inclusive events at your next reunion:
- Start with the class officer nominating committee and your class officers. Who do you have in those groups? Think broadly about communities to include and invite them onto your team. For instance, look for geographic variety (where are alumni residing?), people with disabilities, political affiliations, and classmates of all nationalities, ethnicities, genders, and financial backgrounds. With a diverse nominating committee, you will not only better represent the alumni body, but you will also receive a variety of event ideas and ways to reach underrepresented groups that you may not have considered.
- Assign MAC (Multicultural Alumni Committee) officers or a MAC committee to your class leadership—or more loosely, a group of people whose focus is to think about how to diversify class leadership, the reunion committee, and the reunion itself.
- Think about whether proposed dates and certain events would be difficult to attend or objectionable for certain groups. For example, avoid scheduling a class dinner on an important religious holiday.
- Organize events around issues that are important to your class such as caring for aging parents, saving and paying for college, financial planning, etc. (The focus will change depending on the issues faced by your class's generation.)
- Do your best to create a context that shows awareness and intentionality to achieve maximum participation. You may have different ideas than the ones listed above, and if so, the ACL Board of Advisors would love to hear them so we can spread the word!
Questions about these tips?
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Upcoming Dates to Remember
Mark your calendar!
- March 14, 2019: Brown Volunteer Summit, NYC
- April 27, 2019: ACL Annual Meeting & Reception, Providence
- May 24 – 26, 2019: Reunion Weekend and Commencement
And remember, the ACL Board of Advisors is here to help! Please feel free to reach out to any of the board members with any questions.
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