If you’re like many Clarkies, you really care about what happens with the University years and even decades after you graduated. We see you at events across the country, and interact with you via phone, email and through social media when you see something you want to celebrate or that you’re concerned about.
That’s why it’s important to have a group of alumni dedicated to representing your interests with the school.
For decades, Clark has had an active alumni group — the Alumni Association Executive Board — that meets regularly with the administration and Board of Trustees to understand plans for the future and offer a unique perspective on opportunities and challenges facing the school.
Last year, we took a fresh look at the group and its responsibilities to see if we needed to make changes to stay relevant. We engaged an outside consultant who has worked with schools like ours on similar efforts. Here are changes that resulted from our efforts:
- The group will now be known as the Clark University Alumni Council to reflect our advisory role and to eliminate confusion with the Board of Trustees.
- The council will increase to 24 members, with each member serving a four-year term. This move allows us to more accurately reflect the diverse perspectives from our undergraduate and graduate populations. The council also will include additional faculty and student representatives.
- The council’s growth will allow for more committee work to better assist Clark in outreach and engagement. Committees will be fluid based on the needs of the school. Current committees include Nominating, Governance, Communication and ClarkCONNECT.
- The Nominating Committee will identify and fully vet a slate of candidates for the position of alumni trustee representative and present it to the Board of Trustees for selection. This represents a change from the alumni balloting process. Historically, a small percentage of Clark alumni participate in voting.
- A new mission statement (see below) has been drafted to reflect our direction and our passion for the University.
Want to learn more or get involved? Have something else on your mind? We want to hear from you! Reach out to alumni@clarku.edu.
Alumni Council Mission Statement
The Clark University Alumni Council connects or reconnects Clarkies with the University. We promote activities and share news that will deepen their affinity with a community that launched passions, careers and relationships. Through our interactions, we also drive positive and lasting change that redefines what it means to be a Clarkie, and excites and inspires graduates to participate, to give and to be champions of the Clark experience.
