As
the new president of the Board of Governors, Emorys foremost
alumni leadership group, Greg Vaughn
87C has a clear vision of what he hopes to
accomplish during his term.
I
view our responsibility in selecting alumni trustees as one
of the most important things the Board of Governors does. It
has a huge, long-term impact on the University, Vaughn
says. I would like to see more diversity in the type of
members who sit on the board. We will, undoubtedly, continue
to choose people of influence. But I would also like to see
younger alumni and alumni from the not-for-profit community,
as well as more women and people of color.
Vaughn
(left) also plans to aim more of AEAs programming toward
the half of Emorys alumni that has graduated since 1985.
Wed like to become reflective of that younger alumni
body, with programming and opportunities that allow them to
have a more active voice, he says.
In
fact, Vaughn, who went on to get his medical degree from Harvard
after graduating from Emory College, is a prime example of a
successful young alumnus who chose to remain actively involved
with Emory as his alma mater.
My
heart has always been with Emory, says Vaughn, now vice
president and general manager of NDCHealth, a healthcare information
services and technology company in Atlanta. Harvard provided
phenomenal medical training, but I didnt develop the personal
attachment I have to Emory.
The
Board of Governors of the Association of Emory Alumni (AEA)
is made up of thirty-six members from constituent alumni groups
and seven ex-officio members representing the University, students,
and faculty. The board is responsible for overseeing the activities
of the AEA, as well as selecting Emory Medal winners, Turman
award winners, and alumni representatives to the Board of Trustees.
Members are elected to serve up to two consecutive two-year
terms.
Since
its creation in the late eighties, the Board of Governors, which
represents virtually all of the schools of the University, has
been the primary impetus behind the development and execution
of the mission of the AEA, says Vice President for Alumni
Affairs and Special Development Programs Robert
G. Pennington 74Ox-76C-81L-81MBA.
As an advisory board, its role is critical in shaping
the programs and services provided to our entire alumni population.
Renelda
Mack 83C (left), the outgoing president of
the Board of Governors, got involved with the AEA because
of my strong ties and allegiance to the University, and because
it seemed an extension of my participation as an active student
on campus.
After
receiving her degree in English literature from Emory, Mack
spent a year as a Bobby Jones scholar in Scotland, then went
to law school at the University of Florida. She is now chief
of the civil rights unit in the State Attorneys office
in the fifteenth judicial circuit in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Mack
sees the Board of Governors as an umbrella for all of the Universitys
constituent alumni associations and strove during her term to
strengthen the ties between the schools associations and
the board.
I
also tried to improve the relationship between alumni and students.
It's important to show students that Emory graduates are successful
and that alumni care about them, she said. If we
increase alumni involvement, it will help to make the Emory
experience more pleasant and memorable and, looking to the future,
will develop greater loyalty to and affinity for the University.
We want these ties to be long lasting.
To
that end, Board of Governors members met with both the incoming
and outgoing presidents of the Student Government Association,
strengthened its mentoring program, and endorsed two new annual
eventsClass Day, for which seniors choose a notable speaker
to address them before graduation (this years speaker
was activist-actor Danny Glover), and the Candlelight Crossover,
in which graduates process over the bridge at the Miller-Ward
Alumni House after the Senior Dinner, symbolizing their transition
to alumni.
We
would very much like to assist students in building school spirit
and traditions, says Mack, who in her role as president
of the Board of Governors welcomed the Class of 2003 into the
host of illustrious alumni during Mays Commencement
ceremony.
Mack
also initiated the first Emory Alumni Community Service Day
on Saturday, November 15, which builds upon Volunteer Emorys
Hunger and Homelessness Week, November 10 to 14.
On
that Saturday in Atlanta there will be students working side
by side with alumni, administrators, and faculty at the Atlanta
Community Food bank. Emory alumni all across the country will
be doing service projects on that dayin Phoenix, Philadelphia,
Houston, Austin, Seattle, New Orleans, D.C., West Palm Beach,
L.A., Chicago, San Francisco, Nashville, and many other places.
Hopefully, this will allow [alumni] chapters to form where none
has existed. Were also looking to expand internationally.
Mack
hopes the Alumni Community Service Day will become an annual
eventthat at least once each year, alumni across the country
and around the world will put on their Emory T-shirts, reach
out to their local communities, and do the University proud.M.J.L.
2003-2004
BOARD OF GOVERNORS - ASSOCIATION OF EMORY ALUMNI
Emory
College
Renelda
E. Mack 83C
Rose
Eiland Smith 85C
Margot
Rogers 88C
Tash
S. Elwyn 93C
Robin
Thomas 99C
Cameron
P. Taylor 90C
Walter
H. Beckham III 70C-77L
Eric
J. Tanenblatt 88C
Pamela
C. Pryor 69C-70G
Molly
Koock James 89C
Oxford
College
John
W. Robitscher 81Ox-83C-92MPH
W.
Reid Mallard 84Ox-86C
Dental
School Alumni Association
John
MacNamara 78D
Dan
Stinson 63D
Medical
School Alumni Association
Patricia
H. Meadors 73C-77M
Ramon
A. Suarez 74C-78M
Nursing
School Alumni Association
Barbara
Reed 57BSN-79MN
Nancy
N. Buist 88MN
School
of Public Health Alumni Association
Nancy
M. Hunt 87MPH
Dennis
F. Jarvis 88MPH
Graduate
School
Mary
B. Huff 71G
Amalia
K. Amaki 92G-94PhD
Library
School
Kathy
Tomajko 79G
M.
Magda Sossa 76G
Law
School Alumni Association
Chet
Tisdale 72L
Jean
Zimmerman 75L
Business
School Alumni Association
Andrea
J. Casson 88BBA-93MBA
Fernando
A. Costantino 00MBA
Theology
School
Beth
A. Gustafson 94T
Robert
B. Townes IV 82T
At-Large
Alumni Representatives
Jim
Bailey 67Ox-69C
Elizabeth
Ann Morgan 90L
Gregory
L. Vaughn 87C
Teresa
M. Rivero 85Ox-87BBA-93MPH
Lonnie
T. Brown Jr. 86C
Marcie
S. Hirshberg 85MN
Amy
Toy Rudolph 88C-91L
Walker
L. Ray 62C-65M
Ex-Officio
William
H. Fox 79PhD, senior vice president for Institutional
Advancement
Robert
G. Pennington 74Ox-76C-81L-81MBA, vice
president for Alumni Affairs and Special Development Programs
Allison
Dykes, associate vice president, Association of Emory Alumni
Francine
Cronin, assistant vice president for Annual Giving
Gary
Hauk 91PhD, vice president and secretary of the University
Renelda
Mack 83C, past president, Association of Emory Alumni
Judson
B. Jay Hodges 72T-91DMin, chair, Emory
Annual Fund
TBA,
co-presidents, Student Alumni Association
John
Snarey, president, University Senate