Columbia Creates Additional Alumni Chapters

As part of Columbia's continuing focus on alumni relations, the University is creating several new alumni clubs and working to continue the success of its existing programs in connecting alumni in the United States and abroad.

New clubs will be created nationally in Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York and in Colorado, Hawaii, and North Carolina, as well as internationally in places such as Switzerland. A new club may be formed in Vancouver, if there is enough interest. There are currently 37 alumni clubs in the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as 40 in other countries across the world, from Argentina to Malaysia to Belgium.

"I think it is important to continue to develop existing networks and create new local alumni networks in the U.S. and abroad," said Julie Fishman, CC '90 and the president of the Atlanta alumni club. "Local alumni networks are the best way to maintain a presence for the University among far-flung graduates and allow for key career, networking, and social relationships to develop."

"They essentially bring alumni together, whether in Nassau County or the Netherlands," said Karen Sendler, senior associate director of alumni relations at Columbia. "They give the opportunity to maintain ties with the University, particularly outside the University."

The new clubs will be heavily influenced by the opinions of alumni. Surveys on the alumni Web site will gather input from current alumni interested in taking part in the clubs. These clubs, all of which are volunteer-driven, have been extremely successful at attracting members. Ethiopia, for example, has about 20 Columbia alumni, but has still managed to forge a network. A club in Germany started a year ago with only three people and currently has 400 to 500 members.

In the past few years, technology has changed the way the University has been able to communicate.

"There so many more ways to connect with alumni now, from e-mail networks to club Web sites," said Anthony Roman , director of operations for University development and alumni relations.

Officials are also pleased with the success of the recent alumni resource guide that details the various opportunities and services that Columbia provides.

Roman also noted the importance of the intergenerational aspect of the clubs.

"When you are on campus, you are with people mostly around people your own age. But when you graduate, you join 265,000 other people. ... These clubs have people who went to school in the '20s," Roman said.

Alumni clubs can help younger alumni find job and career contacts, and the clubs can also help older alumni interested in hiring from the Columbia alumni pool.

The Paris club draws a wide range of alumni with events such as a popular bowling match with Harvard alumni, wine tastings, and speeches by Provost Alan Brinkley and School of General Studies Dean Peter Awn.

Alumni also have the opportunity to attend faculty presentations on subjects from Islam to stem cell research. The occasional speech by University President Lee Bollinger "also does real well," said Adlar Garcia, associate director for University development and alumni relations. "People want to hear about the institution."

In an effort to further bring students and alumni together, organizers have also started to stress inviting students studying abroad in locations with alumni clubs.

The Netherlands club is "providing a social and professional network of CU alumni, providing a welcoming environment for new arrivals in the Netherlands, and organizing events with speakers, etc.," said Gerhard Mulder, SIPA '98, and a member of the steering committee for the Netherlands alumni club. "For example, we have monthly drinks in either Amsterdam or The Hague and this summer organized a barbecue."

The increased focus on alumni relationships by Columbia is "night and day," said Christophe Knox, CC '95 and president of the alumni club of France. "We founded the Columbia club in 2002 with some assistance from the University, but it's absolutely nothing compared to the support we get today," Knox said. "I think the France club's success is at least partly tied to alums' sense, through both the University's words and deeds, that Columbia has finally gotten serious about its alums."

These networking opportunities help the University "not only financially, but also by positioning ourselves as a global network," Mulder said. "It adds value to your education at CU if you know that when you go back to your country or city that there is a network of people with whom you share a history," Mulder added.

"I believe that regardless of the school you attended, as Columbians, we inevitably share at least a few common interests and sensibilities," Knox said. "For starters, and, at the very least, we're all New Yorkers at heart."