Clark University - Clark News summer 2004
Alumni News (summer 2004)
Dear Clark Alumni,
As the newly elected president of the Clark University Alumni Association, I am both awed by and excited about the opportunity to represent and serve you. I know that I speak for the entire Executive Board when I say, we will do our best to keep the Alumni Association at Clark vibrant and committed to continually engaging alumni in the University.
I would like to give special thanks to my good friend Dimitry Anselme '93, who has led the Alumni Association for the past two years. Thanks to his strong and capable leadership, awareness has increased, programming has been revitalized and many alumni have been brought back into the Clark fold. I look forward to his continued assistance as immediate-past president and want to thank him for coordinating programming and career-related efforts with our alumni and students of color. Thanks, also, to former Association presidents Larry Hershoff '71 and Elyse Darefsky '79 for their guidance and friendship over the years.
The work of the Alumni Association Executive Board could not be accomplished without the support of some very special people. I would like to thank Alumni Affairs Director Bill Bennett M.P.A. '97, Vice President of University Advancement Debbie Bieri and President and Mrs. Bassett for their continuing efforts to encourage alumni to become involved with Clark.
Reunion 2004 was a great success (see page 12). More than 1,100 alumni and friends returned to campus for the festivities. We took special pride in presenting the Alumni Association's two highest awards. Congratulations to Elyse Darefsky '79 for receiving the Distinguished Service Award and Lawrence Klein '91 for receiving the Distinguished Young Alumnus/a Award.
I am happy to report our continued progress with the Alumni Association's Strategic Plan. Alumni Regional Communities continue to have a dramatic impact on the Association and the University. All 10 of our communities will host a Welcome Day on Aug. 5. Members of the communities will hold cook-outs, receptions or picnics to welcome the Class of 2004 to the Alumni Association.
On Nov. 10 and 11, we will launch a new initiative, the Alumni-in-Residence program. This program will add academic enrichment to the classroom by inviting several alumni to teach classes in their field of expertise, participate in career panels and meet informally with students and faculty. This program will provide positive role models for students, bring different perspectives to the classroom and involve alumni in the life of Clark.
Our Alumni Online Community continues to help alumni connect to each other and the University, and our Web pages are constantly improving. Over the summer, we hope to make our online alumni calendar more dynamic by including on-campus events, alumni events and the ability to see online who is attending certain events. We have also begun our Clark Online e-newsletter to alumni, highlighting Clark initiatives, alumni events and University news about faculty, students and staff.
During the coming year, I encourage you to become more involved with Clark. Sign up for the Alumni Online Community. Support the Clark Fund, which provides tuition assistance to many undergraduates. Join the Alumni Admissions Program. Attend a Clark event in your community or on campus. Connect with classmates and encourage them to meet you at Reunion 2005. Together, we can move the Alumni Association to the next level.
Sincerely,
Faith Linsky '76
Alumni Association President
Alumni Admissions News
Tricia Uber '94 has given me her spot in this issue of Clarknews to share some of my thoughts about student recruitment and the Alumni Admissions Program (AAP). Clark continues to succeed in reducing our admission rate, strengthening the quality of the incoming class and improving ethnic, cultural and international diversity. This is mainly due to the efforts of President Bassett and the administration to improve academic programs, facilities and campus life. Public Affairs and Admissions have also worked to ensure that we effectively communicate Clark's distinctive qualities to prospective students and their families. As a result of all of these efforts, Clark's progress in undergraduate admissions has outpaced our competition in most performance indicators.
As we prepare to recruit the next class for Clark, there are two things I would like our alumni to consider. First, in a survey of admitted students from the 2002-03 recruitment cycle, the responses related to the alumni interview were overwhelmingly positive. Regardless of a student's final decision, the opportunity to interview with Clark alumni left a positive impression of the University. This is not surprising. Our alumni are the best spokespeople for Clark, and students value the perspective you are able to share with them.
Last year, alumni completed 934 interview assignments, attended 149 college fairs, hosted 13 receptions for prospective students and coordinated the Clark University Book Award with many high schools. And we still need more alumni involved with the AAP. Word of mouth, especially from our alumni, is the most effective and compelling way to introduce the special qualities of the University to students who are considering a set of very good schools. I urge you to consider ways in which you can help us continue our success and improve Clark's selectivity. You can make a real difference. Hundreds of AAP volunteers already have.
Second, in a survey of private colleges in the Northeast, excluding the Ivy League, the average percentage of parent legacies in the first-year class ranged between 4 and 6 percent. At Clark, the average percentage of parent legacies in the new class has ranged between 1 and 2 percent. The number this year is 6, or just over 1 percent of the 565 new students who have expressed their intention to enroll in August. Just about 3 percent of the new class consists of brothers and sisters of current students or alumni. One of our key challenges is to enroll more children of alumni. Tricia and I welcome your thoughts on how to attract more legacy students.
Clark is in excellent shape to make a strong move forward in undergraduate recruitment. We have strong leadership, a clear academic vision, a growing national presence and a reputation as an institution that transforms students through outstanding teaching and scholarship. I am convinced that we will continue to gain momentum. With the approach of the first decline in the number of high-school students in more than a decade, alumni participation in admissions will give us the advantage we need. I look forward to developing new and innovative ways of working together with you for Clark.
Harold Wingood
Dean of Admissions
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