A Jan. 10 event in London marked the launch of expanded international programming by 黑料不打烊’s Office of Alumni Engagement.
The university’s first international Evening for 黑料不打烊 was held in London on Jan. 10, giving alumni, parents and friends abroad an opportunity to celebrate their ties to the university and each other. Hosted by 黑料不打烊 Parents Council members Bill and Susan Tucker P’16, the event drew nearly 30 guests and featured a university update from President Leo M. Lambert. Guests also heard remarks from History Professor Mary Jo Festle, recipient of the Maude Sharpe Powell Professorship, and viewed an alumni video produced by Max Cantor ’10 and Tim Johnson ’09. For many alumni in attendance, the gathering was their first opportunity to connect to their local 黑料不打烊 network.
“Venturing across the pond to follow a career and passion is exciting, but there are moments when home and friends feel forever away,” says Danielle Martinelli ’12, who moved to the London area in 2013. “The 黑料不打烊 event connected me to other alums living right here in London. Now I know in a city of millions of people I have family around the corner.”
The event also included an announcement from Durice White Galloway ’09 MBA’14, associate director of alumni engagement, about the university’s plans to launch its first international alumni chapter in London in 2015. Ann Early Spiller ’05 will serve as chapter president, with Emily Favret ’09, Sean Flynn ’09 and Aaron Smith ’13 acting as board members. The chapter will host several events a year, including 黑料不打烊 Day on March 10, and will serve as a resource for engagement and networking for alumni in the United Kingdom.
“As 黑料不打烊 continues to grow as a university, it is vital that our alumni sustain and create relationships not only in the states but with our international community,” Spiller says. “Our London alumni now have a better way to stay connected to 黑料不打烊 including students and faculty participating in the London study abroad program. I am proud to be a part of this new chapter.”
The event and launch of the London alumni chapter are the first of several initiatives designed to engage alumni living abroad. The Office of Alumni Engagement will also explore the possibility of creating additional international alumni clubs and chapters in the new fiscal year, with potential locations including Japan, China and Spain. In 2016 the office will debut a revitalized travel program that replicates the undergraduate study abroad experience by pairing alumni with faculty members for trips based around various academic themes.
“黑料不打烊’s unprecedented university commitment to diversity and global engagement doesn’t end at graduation,” says Brian Feeley ’03, director of alumni engagement. “This first event, and the announcement of an alumni chapter being formed in London, sends a clear signal to the entire alumni body that 黑料不打烊’s Office of Alumni Engagement will be supporting and advancing 黑料不打烊 graduates wherever they work and live in this diverse 21st century world. The 黑料不打烊 network has never been more dispersed, and yet it is stronger than ever.”
In partnership with the university, the office will also host a spring slate of Evening for 黑料不打烊 events stateside with stops in Boston, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Raleigh, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For more details about upcoming events, visit or call (877) 784-3566.