News from the Alumni Association Board:
Alumni Spark Conversation With Student Leaders

Topics ranged from the Pomona Student Digester to involving freshmen in alumni activities when student leaders met with the Alumni Association Board at its quarterly meeting in early October. “We wanted to start some meaningful discussions with current students to involve them early,” said Association President Andy Agle ’91. “I think we got a good foundation for making our programming appeal to Sagehens who are still on campus.”

Several organizations were represented at the meeting held at the Seaver House on campus. Among the student leaders, Julia Patzelt ’03, ASPC vice president; Andres Lopez ’04, junior class president; and Renee Blanceagle ’03, resident advisor, presented ideas for how to make the Alumni Association more visible and well known to students.

The rest of the day was reserved for strategic planning and updates on current initiatives and technology available to alumni. Whitney Hengesbach, assistant director of public affairs and Web manager, demonstrated improvements to the Pomona Website, many of which were intended to help alumni know more about current developments at the College. “We hope that the changes will help connect alumni with Pomona—and to each other—by encouraging them to keep up on the latest alumni news,” said Agle. In addition, the Alumni Association announced plans to launch an email newsletter, also aimed at keeping alumni informed and in touch with the College.

Agle and Juan Matute ’63, president-elect of the association, outlined other goals for the year, including reviewing event publications, introducing new approaches to Alumni Week events; and invigorating key regional communities with educational and entertaining alumni events.

For more information on Alumni Association programming, e-mail alumni@pomona.edu.

Symposium to Examine Ethical Dilemmas

“Trust Betrayed: Contemporary Ethical Dilemmas” will be the title of the 14th Annual Alumni Association Symposium, to be held in conjunction with Alumni Weekend on May 2-3, 2003. Panels of distinguished alumni and faculty members will lead discussions on a wide range of topics, including bioethics, business, ethics in academia and the church. Begun in 1990 as an educational program, the award-winning symposium has become the educational cornerstone of Alumni Weekend. This year’s symposium will feature a keynote address and interactive sessions that encourage participation through question-and-answer sessions and receptions for the speakers. Watch the alumni Webpage at www.pomona.edu/alumni for updates on speakers and times.

WWII Symposium Wins National Award

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education presented the 2001-02 “Seal of Excellence” award to the Pomona College Alumni Symposium “Focus on a Generation: Pomona College and the WWII Years.” This international award singled out the symposium as the nation’s top reunion program for the year 2001-02. Symposium Chair Rosemary Oelrich Choate ’63 and Alumni Association Past-President Penny Hunt ’83 were in Chicago in July to accept the honor.