The Grinnell College Alumni Council met on-campus the weekend of October 3-4, 2008, one of our two annual meetings in Grinnell. The Alumni Council is a group of Grinnell College alumni and student representatives whose purpose is to foster strong connections between alumni and the College.


The four standing committees of the Council (Pioneer Fund and Development, Communication, Alumni Relations and Alumni Networks) each met individually and then made reports on their activities to the full Council. The Council is working on, among other things, improving the Grinnell Regional Admission Support Program (GRASP) for alumni volunteers, investigating on-line social networks for improving alumni connections and spotlighting outstanding alumni volunteers on the College website.

The full Council also heard presentations from W. Houston Dougharty, the College's Vice President for Student Affairs and Seth Allen, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid. Dougharty communicated his goal of making his office the most intentional and effective resident liberal arts college student affairs organization in the country, while Allen reviewed the successful year in his department, which led to the largest applicant pool in College history and the second largest matriculating class of 468 students.

The Council was also visited by David White '90, Chair of the Board of Trustees, who shared the current priorities of the Board. The Council is now discussing ways to contribute to the Board's agenda through collaboration with staff in the Office of College and Alumni Relations and others across campus. One of the main goals White spoke about is strengthening the relationship between the College and the alumni community.

In addition to our regular council agenda, we were happy to participate in the celebrations surrounding the dedication of the Robert N. Noyce '49 Science Center, including the terrific multi-media presentation hosted by Walter Koenig '58 in Darby Gym.

The Council next meets on-campus March 6-8, 2009. Included on our agenda will be the selection of a new President-elect for the Council and the choice of recipients of the Alumni Awards during Reunion 2009. If you have any questions about the Alumni Council, feel free to drop me a line!


SAM!
Sam Perlman '90
President, Grinnell College Alumni Council
samperlman@alumni.grinnell.edu