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Show ,~ I - FOCUS: ALUM.NI It THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY• MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1996 THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL • SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY • MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1996 II ........ FOCUS: ALUMNI C]) I Alumni Association provides student link to SU Student Association The SUU Alumni Association provides the link for former graduates and students to university plans, programs and activities, said Vaughn McDonald, current National Alumni Board president. Under direction of the National Alumni Board, the SUU Alumni Association works jointly with the office of Alumni Relations, a full-time operating department of the university under the direction of Marlo Jensen. McDonald also occupies a seat on the University Board of Trustees. The Alumni Board president has a term of two years; President-Elect David Moody will assume the position at the expiration of that time in July of 1997. According to McDonald, the SUU Alumni Association publishes the annual Alumni News to inform alumni of important projects and events that are occurring on campus. The rapid growth of the university and the changing landscape of buildings are highlighted, accomplishments of alumni are summarized, new programs are reviewed and important news stories on the arts, athletics and scholarly activities are printed, said McDonald. In 1995, the LOS Church donated its old Institute building, located on the northeast corner of C~ter Street and Third West, to the university to house the Alumni Relations Office and related Alumni Association activities, said McDonald. The building is named in memory of former SUU President, J. Reuben Clark. In October 1996, the National Alumni Board held its first official meeting in the new facility. Although the university will provide operating and maintenance funds for the building, needed renovations and modifications will be the responsibility of the Alumni Association, said McDonald. Claudia Howells chairs the interior design committee, which has suggested design alternatives to the board. According to McDonald, a committee assigned to raise funds for the needed design revisions has also been designated. McDonald also said the Alumni Association sponsors many projects to support the university. He said the Alumni Association sponsored the first University Gala held at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake Cty in February 1996. The event consisted of the university's test student performers and was a huge success, according to McDonald, playing to a capacity crowd of alumni and friends of the university along the Wasatch Front. McDonald said the association intends to sponsor anoii\er Gala in Las Vegas, Nev. in 1997. 'We want to be involved in ma;o projects and we want to provide the support necessary to make every alumnus and alumnae proud be a part of SUU,' said Vaughn cDonald, National Alumni Board president. In its June 1996 board meeting, the association also decided to implement a dues program to help fund the renovation of the J. Reuben Clark Jr. Alumni House and other necessary programs, according to McDonald. In 1995 and 1996, the Alumni Association established county alumni chapters in each county in Utah, said McDonald. The association intends to use the county chapters to cultivate alumni membership and bring SUU to the various countits through receptions and other outreach programs. McDonald added that the first Alumni Directory was published in 1988. A revised publication is scheduled for printing this year. As a part of the university's NCAA certification program, the Alumni Association was represented on the Steering Committee for Athletic Certification by McDonald. The SelfStudy Report will be submitted to the NCAA in January 1997, he said. McDonald added that the Alumni Association is also participating in the university's centennial program by funding a statue for the Centurium. A Student Alumni Association has also been formed, according to McDonald, to give current students an opportunity to participate in alumni programs and to assist them in transitioning to full alumni status The program has been highly successful in its first two years of operation, he said According to McDonald, one of the main functions of the Alumni Association is to maintain contact with each alumnus/alumnae. To do this requires an extensive computer data base that is constantly updated. "We need to know where our alumni members are and what they are doing," McDonald said. "Because of the rapid changes in the University, our members need to know of the progress being made and to participate in the development of the university," he added. One of the highlights of the alumni program is the annual alumni banquet that is held during Homecoming Week, said McDonald. Each year, two major awards are presented by the Association: the Outstanding Alumnus Award and the Distinguished Service Award. In 1996, Val Clark received the Outstanding Alumnus Award and Peg Thorley, former SUU director of alumni relations, received the Distinguished Service Award. The goal of the SUU Alumni Association is simple, according to McDonald. "We want to be involved in major projects and we want to provide the support necessary to make every alumnus and alumnae proud to be a part of SUU." serves students, campus By BROOKE BRISCOE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER "SUU is a great place to be and to get an education," said Marlo Jensen, director of development and the adviser of the Student Alumni Association. "But as people leave and move on, their focus changes to their careers and families. And sometimes it's hard for us to get them back, to re-establish an association to the school." The Student Alumni Association is an organization that was developed to build an ongoing relationship between students and SUU, "and to build an attitude of g1vmg back to SUU while they're here and as they move on." Jensen said. The association is fairly new to SUU. "We're in our fourth year, and I've just recently become kind of responsible for it," Jensen said. "It's a good group, quite self-supporting." The association is primarily a serviceoriented group. They have helped usher at events such as the Homecoming reception, and are also the ones who laid the sod at the J. Reuben Clark Alumni House. They are also currently making preparations for the Finals Week Survival Kits they distribute to students. The survival kits contain food, drinks and other "fun" stuff to help students deal with the stress of finals. It's also a time when parents get a chance to show support for their students, said Jensen. The Student Alumni Association sends a letter to the parents explaining that finals arc coming up and that it is a very stressful time. For a donation, they will put together a Finals Week Survival Kit for the student. In addition to these efforts, the Student Alumni Association also works to help students get the most out of their college experience. With such a large number of groups on campus, Jensen said he realizes that "not everyone can be in every club, so we're trying to give people a chance to be involved in both service and social aspects of the university. That is a very important part of college life." One way to get involved, according to Jensen, is to become a member of the Student Alumni Association. "We are all alumni, whoever goes to school here is a future alumnus. The enrollment is open, anyone can join," said Jensen. Former students can strengthen ties to SU Funds sought for renovation of Alumni House is working to raise $250,000 to restore building 'Everyone who has attended the school is an ambassador,' said Marlo Jensen The Alumni Association Alumni Funds for the project are being raised from private Association. It will be used as a storage By GLENN HALTERMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER Some time after marching to the strains of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance at graduation and the payment of any unpaid parking tickets, an SUU student is transformed into an entity known as an alumnus, and thereby joins an organization known as the SUU Alumni Association. "The Alumni Association is essentially comprised of everyone who has attended the school," said Marlo Jensen, director of development at SUU, According to Jensen, an important function of the Alumni Association is keeping former SUU students apprised of events and happenings on campus. One way this is accomplished is by hosting receptions at various locations in Utah and the surrounding region. The next reception will be held on Dec. 4 on the University of Utah campus just prior to the men's basketball game between the Thunderbirds and the Utes. Jensen said future engagements similar to the get-together in Salt Lake City are planned for Ogden, Provo and Las Vegas, Nev., when SUU's athletic squads meet teams from Weber State University, Brigham Young University and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, respectively. "We try to re-establish or strengthen the ties with individuals [in the areal and let them know what's going on," said Jensen. In addition to the organization's base on the SUU campus, Jensen also spoke of other smaller groups around the state that the Alumni Association has developed. "We've organized alumni committees in most of the counties in Utah now," he said. I Jensen said that these groups help to coordinate the receptions as well as aid in public relations work in behalf of the university. Jensen also emphasized the fact that everyone who has attended SUU is essentially an ambassador for the school. This points to an additional important purpose of the Alumni Association-strengthening ties of past students to the school. Jensen said that the Alumni Association is "the group that keeps tradition, the association and the goals alive." Jensen said that the Alumni Association is also called on to provide service on campus as well for assistance for other projects associated with the university. The organization has annually been involved with the Marlo fensen ordering of caps and gowns in conjunction with graduation and members also recently sponsored one of the statues in the Centurium. "We look to alumni for support for projects [for SUUJ," Jensen said. Scholarship drives are also part of the Alumni Association's activities. In addition, the organization sponsors the annual SO-Year Club/Anniversary Club dinner for SO-year graduates of SUU as well as hosting the alumni banquet each year for Homecoming. Jensen said this event has been quite a success, as the Great Hall has been filled the last two years. However, students do not have to wait until their undergraduate studies have been completed before assisting in projects to benefit the university. Individuals currently attending SUU are dlso afforded the opportunity to participate m SUU's Student Alumni Association (SUUSAA). The SUUSAA sponsors several activities on campus throughout the year and also provides "student survival kits" at the end of each quarter during finals. Jensen said SUUSAA members also assisted in the planting of the sod around the new J. Reuben Clark, Jr. Alumni House. Another current goal of.the SUUSAA is to raise enough money for scholarships, Jensen said. Jensen expressed the importance of having students participate while they are on campus so that they will have valuable experience in coordinating similar events when they are alumni. "We are trying to get them involved while they are here," Jensen said. Membership in the SUUSAA is open to all students. Interested individuals are invited to call Marlo Jensen at 586-7777 or visit his office in the J. Reuben Clark Jr. Alumni House, located on the corner of Center Street and 300 West. Students desiring further information may also call Chuck Brandt, president of the SUUSAA, at 865-7919. donations, said Jensen. The J. Reuben Clark Jr. Alumni House, located on the corner of Center Street and 300 West, was a gift to the university by the LOS Church, and the university The SUU Alumni Association is currently trying to took possession of the building on January 1, 1996. raise $250,000 to complete the renovation of the J. The house was built in 1940 as a facility to house Reuben Clark Jr. Alumni House, said Director of LOS Institute classes. Development Marlo Jensen. "We want to restore the In 1971, when the current LOS original atmosphere, " Jensen said. Institute building was constructed, the In order to capture the original look of building became a meeting house for the building, efforts are being focused on college students and then married restoration of the original hardwood floors couples. and the original light fixtures may be used, According to Jensen, when the new Jensen said. student chapel was built, the LOS An expansion of the kitchen, Church no longer had a need for the replacement of all the windows, complete building, and it was donated to the re-design of the bathrooms and reception university. area, as well as the possible addition of a When the building was donated, the built-in platform for formal banquets are LOS Church requested that it be named also being planned, according to Jensen. in honor of J. Reuben Clark, a former A general statement issued by the president of SUU, as well as a former Alumni Association stated "The Southern member of the first presidency of the Utah University Alumni House will church. provide a crucial lifeline between the In 1900, Clark was fired after asking institution's endeavors of the past, present for a budget four times the size of the and future." budget he had originally been given to The work on the J. Reuben Clark Jr. work with, according to Jensen. Alumni House that has already been Jensen said that the purpose of the completed includes the installation of a Alumni House is to serve as a gathering sprinkler system, a porch with wheelchair place for former and prospective ramp and a telephone center with 20 students, and it will also serve as a place phones for the annual alumni telethons. for students to reconnect with the The Alumni Center has also been wired school. so it can connect to the campus computer "This is going to be a fun project. It is network, said Jensen. The Alumni Association is currently working to raise funds to finish the restoration of a fun building and it will be fun to sec it Jensen added that the Alumni House the f. Reuben Clark fr. A lumni House that was donated to SUU last year. all come together," Jensen sa·d. will function as the headquarters of the By D.W. ANDERSON JOURNAL STAFF WRITER location, banquet hall and office. When finished, the Alumni House will have a living room, two banquet and meeting rooms and the only library of SUU yearbooks on campus, according to Jensen. The building will also continue to house all graduation caps and gowns, as well as two offices and a reception center. |