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Volume CXXXII, Number 3 |
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Alumni return for annual meetings
ROSE KENT
STAFF WRITER
This weekend 200-300 alumni will return to Bowdoin for a weekend of workshops, meetings and presentation of awards. The Fall Volunteer Conference of the Alumni Fund, Alumni Council and BASIC Volunteers is being held from Thursday to Saturday his week.
"[There is] common thread for all in attendance. They care deeply about Bowdoin College and invest incredible amounts of time and energy to make Bowdoin a special place," said Alumni Relations Director Kevin Wesley.
The Alumni Council, made up of 32 alumni of all ages from around the country, consists of 12 committees who oversee a variety of events and programs, including Alumni Education, Volunteer Engagement, Career Services and Multicultural Alumni Involvement. The Council will be looking at ways to effectively let more class volunteers "help in a meaningful way," according to Wesley.
Currently, there are so many people wanting to become actively involved
in the Bowdoin community that there just aren't enough jobs for them to
do. "[It's] a great problem to have," said Wesley.
They will also be looking for ways to keep students connected after they
graduate and to get more people actively involved in planning and fundraising
efforts.
Newer issues, such as the fact that alums are more spread out, have come up in the last few years and need to be addressed as well. Demographics have shifted, pressures on time are greater today than in the past, yet the Alumni Office's goal is to have Bowdoin graduates maintain the same level of involvement in the college. They hope to achieve this through programs such as alumni travel with CBB professors and the alumni college program, which brings 50 alumni back to campus in the summer to study a specific topic with Bowdoin professors.
Committee heads of the BASIC (Bowdoin Alumni Schools Interviews Communications) National Advisory Board will also meet for workshops this weekend. The workshops will focus on leadership, fundraising strategies and clarification of goals. According to Wesley, BASIC volunteers are the "extended arms of the admissions office" who conduct interviews with prospective students and host college fairs in various cities all over the country.
The Alumni Fund Directors are also meeting to discuss the annual alumni giving and to work on reaching participation goals. Bowdoin has "some of the most dedicated alumni in the country, with the rate of giving at 57%," said Wesley, with nearly six out of ten alumni donating money to the Alumni Fund each year.
The fund raises over six million dollars each year, which then go into the general operating budget of the college and helps pay for expenses such as facilities, maintenance, salaries and financial aid.