Summer 2010: from the EAA

Allison Dykes

Allison Dykes, Vice-President for Alumni Relations

Bryan Meltz

By Allison Dykes

Dear Friends,

Greetings from the Emory Alumni Association (EAA). I hope you are enjoying your summer. Like you, for us at the EAA, the summer is a wonderful time for vacation. So we’re planning some time away from campus. Recharging is always nice.

Summer also is a convenient time to reflect on the academic year that has just concluded, as well as prepare for the new one just down the road. Nearly four thousand new graduates have now joined the Emory alumni community, and the EAA is pleased to welcome them.

But what does it mean to be Emory alumni?

The answer is a long and complicated one, and it’s different for each of those four thousand new graduates—as well as for the 110,000 graduates who came before. But it’s something we are going to be thinking about, and I encourage you to think about it, too.

What does it mean?

One of the first things I think about is connection. Alumni are connected to the University for the rest of their lives. They are also connected to each other. Nurturing those bonds . . . staying involved in the life of the University . . . mentoring your fellow graduates . . . giving when you can . . . promoting Emory at home . . . sometimes even letting Emory know if it should be doing more . . . that’s what it means to be Emory alumni. Staying connected.

One of the EAA’s jobs is coming up with fulfilling ways to keep you connected. And an opportunity is coming up. Planning already has begun for Emory Homecoming Weekend, September 23–26, and if you look to the right you’ll see why.

All of us at the EAA, and in the Emory community at large, are excited to welcome Amy Ray 86C and Emily Saliers 85C, the Indigo Girls, back to campus for a special concert on McDonough Field. Emory looks upon its Grammy-winning alumnae duo with great pride, and we are honored that they will grace us with their music on Saturday, September 25. It should be a memorable experience.

The concert, though, is just one of dozens of events stretching from Oxford to Atlanta that make Emory the place to be during the last weekend of September. Our annual Homecoming Parade has grown rapidly in the past few years, and not even a torrential downpour could stop it last year.

Many classes will be holding reunions, Emory’s soccer and volleyball teams will be in action, and we’ll even have special faculty lectures if you are feeling academic. Emory Homecoming Weekend promises something for everyone.

But, of course, Emory is a great place to be any time, even during the summer. With the majority of students gone, campus is quiet, yet it retains its natural beauty. Emory loves its blue and gold, but green (the color of our lush canopy of trees) is everywhere. Yes, we do have our construction—mainly near the Haygood-Hopkins Gate—but once it’s finished, the slight disruption will be well worth it.

The streetscaping will be beautified, and all of us are excited about the opening of the new state-of-the-art Emory bookstore, which will face Oxford Road. For our Homecoming visitors, the new bookstore will be a must-see. Never before has our community been able to take home such a wide variety of Emory gifts.

From clothing to glassware, jewelry, high-quality home and office products, and much more, the new Emory bookstore will offer you attractive ways to take home a memory of your alma mater. And even if you can’t make it back to Emory personally, you can still visit Emory’s online bookstore at www.bookstore.emory.edu.

So, whether you visit Emory virtually or in person, you are always welcome here. Emory is your community and it always will be. So if you visit campus during Homecoming or any other time, please stop by the Miller-Ward Alumni House. We are celebrating our tenth anniversary in September, so we plan to be extra festive.

If you can’t make it this year, keep an eye out for Emory near you. The EAA sponsors scores of events across the country and one (or more) could be in your backyard. The easiest way to find out about EAA activities across the country and around the world is by registering with us at www.alumni.emory.edu/updateinfo.

And you can reach me anytime by email at adykes@emory.edu. Enjoy your summer!