April 2012 - Alumni News - Williams College

REPRESENTING THE ALUMNI BODY
As I wind down four years of Society of
Alumni leadership—two as vice president and
then as president—I thought I would try to
answer a question many alums have asked
me: What exactly is it that you do?
In some ways, the position is symbolic,
with inspiring duties such as welcoming each
graduating class in to the Society of Alumni at
Commencement and presiding over the annual
meeting of the society at Reunion Weekend. I
also attend trustee meetings as a non-voting
member and can affirm that the board is
deeply attuned to Williams’ governance and to
the thoughts of alumni. And because alumni
leadership is represented on presidential
search committees, I was honored to represent
you on the team that brought us President
Adam Falk.
Since Williams enjoys one of the most loyal
and engaged alumni groups in the world, I
also preside over the three meetings each year
of the society’s executive committee, which
works with the alumni relations office to
connect alumni with each other and our alma
mater. The executive committee works with
regional associations, class officers, affinity
groups, reunion volunteers and other alumni
seeking to engage with the society as a whole.
In recent years, the executive committee
has taken a special interest in students.
Williams is now home to an increasingly
diverse group of undergraduates, not all
of whom may be prepared for the college
experience. While Williams has a fantastic
support system in place, we believe that
alumni—many of whom may have been in
similar situations—can help ensure that every
student can take advantage of all our college
community offers. From career mentoring to
offering a sympathetic ear, I have found that
alumni across the world are eager to help.
That so many of you voiced concern and
support after the campus racial incident last
November clearly demonstrates how important
students are to you. My friend, Alumni
Relations Director Brooks Foehl ’88, describes
at the end of this issue some of the actions
taken by President Falk. I would also direct
you to an event planned well before this
awful crime took place: Now in its fourth
year, Claiming Williams Day is the result of
a student-driven movement to challenge the
campus community to face difficult questions
of inequality. Please take a moment to look
over the wide range of events that took place
on Feb. 2 at claiming.williams.edu. Fellow
alumni who have done so have expressed
great pride in this initiative.
I’m glad to end this overview of my last
four years with this story about current
students. They are an amazingly diverse and
thoughtful group of young men and women,
and I am proud to have witnessed first-hand
the dedication that President Falk, the faculty,
staff and of course alumni have shown in
shaping these future leaders.
Christopher F. Giglio ‘89
President, Society of Alumni
Brooks L. Foehl ’88, Director of Alumni Relations,
shares an update on campus events here