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RACU Graduates Form an Alumni Association.
On Friday, March 28th, more than half of the thirty RACU graduates living
in Moscow came together for an alumni meeting. Many of them had not seen
each other since their commencement service, and the meeting was a time
of great fellowship as these young people caught each other up on their
lives and accomplishments post-RACU. At the meeting, the group decided
to organize a RACU Alumni Association.
RACU’s Provost, Dr. Larry Ort, opened the meeting with a description
of what an alumni association is, how it functions, and what its goals
can be. He used a number of examples from American colleges and universities,
since few if any Russian universities have alumni associations. He talked
about the benefits of communication and networking between graduates,
participation in seminars and lectures of interest, a possible on-line
job bank, and ongoing contact with faculty and staff.
After sharing examples and discussing a range of possible programs that
the alumni association could sponsor, the graduates looked through examples
of alumni publications and talked about various possibilities. Dr. Ort
then asked the graduates if they would be interested in organizing such
an association at RACU – the response was an overwhelming “Yes!”
RACU faculty and staff left the room while the alumni discussed their
plans and elected officers. Alla Buttles was chosen as President, Vladimir
Tikhomirov, Secretary, and Chuck Grigorian, Treasurer.
In addition to this exciting development for RACU, it was a great encouragement
to hear reports from the alumni about their current jobs and how they
are handling the workplace challenges they face. It was also uplifting
to hear their positive comments about their experience at RACU and their
desire to stay in contact with the university.
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