News on Campus

ALUMNI & UNIVERSITY TO MERGE

he board of directors of the Stanford Alumni Association (SAA) voted unanimously May 16 to merge the association with the university.

Under the agreement, which must be ratified by the association's 72,000 members, the alumni association, independent for 106 years, would become a division of the university responsible for serving alumni and representing their interests. Among the key elements of the agreement are expanded resources for alumni programming, and the construction of a new facility to welcome alumni to campus and serve as a center for their meetings, events and other activities.

"By these actions, the university and the alumni association are placing alumni relations front and center among the priorities of the university," said Rich Jaroslovsky, AB '75, chair of the SAA Board of Directors. "The alumni association can accomplish far more working together than they can as two legally separate entities."

Under the proposed merger, the university would commit additional resources to strengthen the links between Stanford and its alumni: increased opportunities for alumni volunteers, expanded online services, enhanced alumni education offerings, and events such as a farewell dinner on the Quad for graduating seniors.

Stanford magazine, which since 1996 has been produced jointly by the alumni association and the Stanford News Service, would be handled by the new alumni division.

Members of the Stanford Board of Trustees and the Stanford Alumni Association Board of Directors had been discussing a possible merger for several months. The Board of Trustees had approved the plan in April. The association mailed ballots for ratification to its members in June and will tally votes during the summer. If ratified, the merger would take effect Sept. 1.

Merger (Plain text)

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