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More than 80,000 U of L alumni dot the globe. Thanks to the Alumni Association, they often find ways to get together- athletic events, club gatherings, homecoming, cruises, shows, and a wide variety of activities engage thousands of alumni each year. Find any place where alumni gather, whether it's a homecoming picnic on Belknap Campus or a club chartering in Hong Kong, and those alumni will surely show their true color-red. And three directors, Leslie Shively, Rodney Williams, and now Tara Singer, link more than 60 years of U of L history in serving alumni.
Although U of L's first homecoming was more than 75 years ago, no formal alumni organization existed until U of L moved to the Belknap Campus in 1925. One of the first attempts to corral alumni activities and donations came with The Alumni Monthly Bulletin, first published in March 1927 to keep graduates abreast of "the developments that have made the University of Louisville one of the greatest municipal universities in America." At that time, U of L had educated about 20,000 students and claimed a mere 7,000 living alumni. William B. Pirtle, a 1903 graduate and general chairman of alumni campaign activities, took on the task of raising $2 million in unrestricted funds. This early incarnation of the Alumni Association was supported by membership dues and dedicated itself to soliciting donations. Pirtle urged alumni to "think of your gift as the payment of an obligation; as the discharge of a debt of honor; an opportunity which has long been denied you; the opportunity for service to that institution which has made your success possible in your chosen field."
Up to 1933, the university financially supported the Alumni Association, but had to cancel support due to a "crippled financial situation."
A mission statement adopted in 1935 allowed the Alumni Association, now once again a separate entity, to support the university in numerous ways. "The specific objective of the University of Louisville Alumni Association is to further the progress and promote the well-fare of the University of Louisville," the bylaws read. Alumni Association President William Crawford formulated plans for an Alumni Annual Fund, which would raise $6,984 in that year. The alumni fund donated $1,000 to U of L after the 1937 flood.
As a private organization, the association had mounted a $7,500 debt from unpaid membership dues when Leslie Shively '33A took the helm of the Alumni Association in 1937.
He immediately eliminated the dues plan, brought the association under the financial support of the university, and started an alumni fund.
"We became self-supporting," Shively says. "For every one dollar the university gave us, we were giving back three."
Over the next three decades, the Alumni Association "just grew," Shively says, and continued to serve as the university's central fundraising body, targeting the professional schools. In an effort to bring about a stronger central organization, the Alumni Association became concentrated in the office of the Director of Alumni Relations in 1945. Shively would continue his role as head of alumni, a post he would hold until the mid-1970s.
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Rodney Williams '65A, '68L succeeded Shively in 1977. "I immediately had a lot of goals to accomplish," he recalls. "I tried to get an academic unit association with each school and college, while strengthening the ones we had and trying to bring some semblance of order." In 1984, University President Donald Swain called for a nationwide network of alumni clubs. Williams and his staff set up 19 clubs in a six-month period.
The Alumni Association's goals and activities continued to grow and change. Homecoming became a major component of the Alumni Association's work. The homecoming picnic on the Grawemeyer Oval was initiated in 1978, and events such as the 10 K Run, alumni baseball game, basketball tip-off luncheon, and alumni band halftime concert were added in the years to come. Town and Gown was born in 1982 when Swain's wife, Lavinia, suggested a whole week of activities surrounding homecoming.
"We looked for things that would bring alumni back to campus," Williams says. "We tried to institute all academic units' participation."
Williams believes his greatest achievement during his 20 years as director is the University Club and Alumni Center, completed in 1991. The late Barry Bingham, Sr., former owner of The Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times donated $4 million to the planned alumni center. Proceeds of $2.2 million from the sale of Gardencourt helped to complete the project. Sadly, Williams stepped down in 1996 as a result of a continuing loss of eyesight, although he continues to serve as assistant director of alumni relations. Tara Singer '83A, '87G, '93G, who replaced Williams, jokes that alumni directors love their alma mater so much that they can't bear to leave it. "Les, Rodney, and I have all spent virtually our entire adult lives at U of L," she says.
Since her appointment, Singer has surveyed alumni and found that "they were looking for more contact with enrolled students and enhanced career services." As a result, new offerings such as the Alumni Admissions Ambassadors Program, the Mentoring Program, and career planning services are in place. The association is also working to involve alumni in the promotion of scholarships for students.
"We'd like to continue to focus on developing a connection with our future alumni, and enhance our role in providing ongoing education and service opportunities for our existing alumni," Singer says.
The Alumni Association has come a long way since its early days but its core mission- "to further the progress and promote the well-fare of the University of Louisville"-remains unchanged.
