Spring Newsletter 2021

Dear Class Leaders,

As we continue our class engagement in a virtual format, we want to encourage you to return to the Virtual Engagement Toolkit for inspiration. It contains many great examples of ways to engage with your classmates, is continuously updated, and recently earned a gold medal from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for our Alumni Relations team!

In this newsletter, we are asking class leaders to nominate potential candidates for the Association of Class Leaders (ACL) Board — the dynamic group of volunteers working to support all class leaders by providing a wide range of training opportunities and best practices. Want to know more about what we do? Visit the ACL Facebook page or check out the resources on our Alumni & Friends webpage.

Finally, keep an eye on your inbox for more information about this year’s virtual Volunteer Summit on March 11 — I look forward to seeing you there!

Ever true,

ACL Board Nominations

The ACL will be electing new board members at this year’s Annual Meeting on May 19. We encourage you to nominate yourself or another current class leader for this great opportunity to deepen your involvement with Brown and to work with a diverse group of class leaders. Members serve a three-year term with the option to stand for an additional three-year term.

Service on the ACL Board includes monthly hour-long calls, two “on-campus” (virtual for now) in-depth meetings per year, and participation on a committee which can include Communications, Engagement and Training, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Virtual Engagement. The committees are reviewed annually and are formed based on the goals of the ACL Board.

Questions? Email classes@brown.edu and we will connect you with a member of the ACL Board who can help.

The ACL Virtual Engagement Committee Needs Your Input

So that we may better serve our class leaders, the ACL Virtual Engagement Committee wants to hear how you and your class stay engaged with each other and with Brown in these socially distant times. Your feedback will help the committee implement a set of virtual engagement best practices and activities to benefit the entire Brown alumni community. We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback and recommendations with us by completing this short survey.

The Latest Virtual Engagement Toolkit Update — Kahoot! Trivia

From Netflix viewing parties to virtual happy hours and book clubs, there is something for everyone in the Virtual Engagement Toolkit — it’s a surefire way to engage your group. An exciting new addition to the toolkit is an easily accessible trivia game platform called Kahoot!, which offers two options for quiz play. You can host a live trivia game with real-time play over Zoom, which can get heated as participants race to see who answers first! Another option is to set up a quiz for people in your group to play on their own time.

Kahoot! also gives you the option to create a customized trivia game just for your class. You could do a quiz on general Brown knowledge, Rhode Island trivia, a class-specific quiz (Who played at Spring Weekend in 2000?), or anything that would be fun for your group. Go to the Virtual Engagement Toolkit to get started!

Best Practices Snapshot

Communicating through class newsletters

During this socially distant time, many classes have found newsletters to be a particularly effective tool for engaging their classmates and keeping everyone connected.

Class newsletters sent using the BRAVO volunteer email tool can include news about classmates, past events, and upcoming class activities. Although newsletters are more frequently sent by classes from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, the ACL’s research on best practices suggests that class newsletter engagement is up across all classes, and alumni of all ages look forward to reading them quarterly, bi-annually, or annually as special messages just for their class. The ACL also found that alumni are interested in telling their stories and learning about their Brunonian friends.

Best Practice Quick Tips:

• The Class of ’58 solicits articles from the class as a whole on a topic of the author’s choosing. They have been surprised and pleased by the articles sent to them! Your classmates are interesting people and have a lot to share.
• The Class of ’63 alternates between recognizing a male or female classmate who has contributed to society or to Brown in a meaningful way.

Finally, remember to ask for photos! Everyone loves to see himself or herself in print, and photos will add interest to your newsletter.

Have a best practice that you would like to share? Please email ACL Communications Committee Chair Barbara Langworthy at blangworthy63@gmail.com.

Brown Alumni Magazine (BAM)

Did you know the Brown Alumni Magazine (BAM) now arrives in your inbox monthly? You can expect a BAM email newsletter at the beginning of every month and the print magazine five times per year. If you haven’t received the newsletter yet, be sure to update your email address. As always, don’t forget to encourage your classmates to send class notes, obituaries, or news to the BAM online or by mail: The Classes, Brown Alumni Magazine, Box 1854, Providence, RI, 02912.

Volunteer Summit

Thursday, March 11 | 1:30 – 4:00 PM EST

The annual Connect / Learn Volunteer Summit provides a space to share ideas, recognize the work of Brown’s volunteer leaders, and gain an inside perspective on what’s happening at Brown. Although the joys of meeting in person will be missed this year, a virtual Volunteer Summit means a broader scope of the community will be able to take part in an abbreviated version of this exciting program.

Reunion 2021: A Virtual Celebration

April 30 – May 2, 2021

Reunion is going fully virtual and includes alumni from both the 2020 and 2021 reunion years — all classes ending in 0, 1, 5, or 6, plus recent grads.

Planning is underway and tons of exciting programming is in the works, including special opportunities to connect with classmates. This year’s Reunion events will be FREE, so take advantage of this opportunity to catch up with all your current Brown friends while expanding your alumni community. Keep an eye on your inbox next week for more information and get ready for new ways to connect with classmates!

May 13 is Brunonians Pay It Forward Day

On Brunonians Pay It Forward Day, members of the Brown community are coming together to support all that Brown makes possible. Join us on Thursday, May 13 for this special giving day and pay it #Forward4Brown. Keep an eye on your inbox for more details this spring!

ACL Annual Meeting

Wednesday, May 19, 2021 | 7:00 – 8:00 pm EST

The ACL Advisory Board invites you to the ACL Annual Meeting on Zoom. Learn about upcoming and past initiatives, and celebrate the new and returning ACL Board members and officers. An email with the Zoom link and agenda will be shared a few days before the meeting.

Nominate a Brunonian working for change

This is a time when our promise as Brunonians to pursue lives of “usefulness and reputation” is most needed. Please share what you — or a Brunonian you know — are doing to help create a more just and equitable society. By highlighting alumni who are addressing anti-Black and systemic racism in their own families, communities, and workplaces, we hope to inspire others to take action and continue the current national focus on these critical topics.

Stay current with alumni news and Brown events

The ACL utilizes its Facebook page to share important information and current events for class leaders to share. Please join us and keep an eye out for upcoming events that may interest your classmates. Be sure to visit the Alumni & Friends website where you can find events, volunteer opportunities, and alumni communities. You can also find links to alumni-related social media channels.

News from Campus

In case you missed it: recent headlines from Brown and beyond.

• $25 million gift to Brown will fuel innovation in brain science
• Learn more about the University’s Healthy Brown initiative in response to the global pandemic
• Excitement, energy and a desire to explore: Class of 2024 undergrads arrive at Brown
• Brown alumna to co-chair science and technology council under Biden administration
• From largest pool to date, Brown admits 885 early decision applicants
• Passages: Brown Chancellor Emeritus Artemis A.W. Joukowsky, Class of 1955

About the ACL

If you’re one of Brown’s 600+ elected or appointed class leaders, you’re automatically a member of the Association of Class Leaders (ACL). The ACL Board of Advisors is here to help by recruiting, engaging, training, and supporting class volunteer leaders. Please reach out to your ACL board members with any questions or suggestions. You can reach us at classleaders@brown.edu.