Connected Minds,Connected Cultures:\ Connected Minds

A L U M N I C O M M I T T E D A N D I N V O L V E DMapping the Future“We’re at a stage where scholarshipsor endowments for chairs are prettyimportant to the future of the lawschool,” says Anne M. Donohue, 1998,one of the board’s newest members.“Getting that message out to the communitiesthat we interact with in ourpersonal and professional lives is important.They use the term ‘ambassador’ todescribe us, and that seems to resonatewith most of the board.”New fundraising initiatives are apart of a more sweeping plan for thefuture. Although the largest alumnichapter of the Columbus School of Lawis that of Greater Washington, D.C.,active chapters exist throughout theNortheast and on the West Coast. Thelaw school’s Office of Development andAlumni Relations intends to help newand existing chapters to become morerobust and organized to attract highernumbers of young alumni to their ranks.At the same time, the membershipof the Board of Visitors itself has becomemore diverse and representative of theentire alumni body. It now reflects agreater range of age, class year, gender,ethnic background and practice area.With the diversity comes a wider pool ofprofessional expertise. The board, whichmet for years as a committee of thewhole, has recently formed a number oftransitional subcommittees to allow membersto contribute their knowledge withina smaller group. The more dynamic, realisticand nimble model allows fewer peopleto make an impact while still reportingback to a central committee.In the end, the approach embracedby the Columbus School of Law’s Boardof Visitors and its dean is intended to keepalumni connected to their law school.That link can take many forms, such asfinancial support, volunteerism, mootcourt coaching or the contribution ofprofessional knowledge. “Part of the reasonfor my gift was to provide otheralumni an incentive to give money,”states Jeff Moreland. The law schoolwould like to begin strategic planningfor an ultimate advancement campaign,but administrators know that its messagemust resonate across generationsand reach all of the school’s diverse bodyof alumni.“We have 10,000 people in the pooland we’re trying to find ways to engagethem,” says Dean Miles. “They don’t allreceive the message the same way. Tofacilitate that, we need their anecdotaland practical advice. We really havetremendous resources within our alumnibody that we’re discovering every day.”Paul G. Alvarez, 2006J. Israel Balderas, 2006Warwick M. Carter Jr., 1991Giovanna M. Cinelli, 1986Patrick Thomas Clendenen, 1991Chris Comuntzis, 1982Sarrita Jordan Cypress, 1990Anne M. Donohue, 1998Mitchell S. Ettinger, 1983Donald W. Farley, 1969J. Conor Gallagher, 2005Sandra Gallagher-Alford, 1988Francis J. Hearn Jr., 1989R. Todd Johnson, 1988James E. McDonald, 1969Susan Smith Newell, 1993Nancy M. Palermo, 1997Shawn P. Regan, 1996The law school extends a special thank you and welcometo the newest members of the Board of Visitors.8CUALAWYER /Spring–Summer 2008