Dear Fellow Alumni,
I am honored to write to you for the first time as Chairman of the Wharton Alumni Executive Board. Together with Board President L. David Mounts, WG’04, we look forward to working with you to strengthen the alumni experience for all of us.
As graduates from the premier business school in the world, we take great pride in our Wharton heritage. We are members of an elite network of more than 88,000 business leaders around the world. Like any network, our strength is based on our shared bond and commitment to each other. There are many ways to maximize your alumni experience, strengthen the Wharton network and give back to the school at the same time. Here are just a few:
• Attend a reunion. If this is a reunion year for you, I would strongly encourage you to attend. This is a great way to reconnect with classmates, develop new contacts and see old friends. There are also many volunteer opportunities centered around organizing your class reunion.
• Join an alumni club. Wharton has 80 alumni clubs around the world, so wherever you are, an alumni club is bound to be nearby. In addition to geographically centered clubs, a number of affinity clubs focus on specific industries or areas of interest, such as private equity or health care. These are some of the fastest growing alumni organizations and can serve as a great network in your specific areas of interest. You can learn more about alumni clubs at: www.wharton.upenn.edu/clubs.
• Become a Class Ambassador. Launched just two years ago and already more than 100 strong, the Alumni Class Ambassador Program aims to cement connections between alumni and increase alumni engagement and participation with the School. To learn more about this program, please contact Wharton Alumni Relations at: alumni.relations@wharton.upenn.edu.
• Donate to the Wharton Fund. Although tuition certainly seemed high when we were students, you may be surprised to know that it actually only covered about half of the total cost of our education. We were all subsidized by the generosity of the alumni who came before us. Now it’s our turn to repay that debt with our own gifts. Remember, every donation we make helps make Wharton an even stronger institution, which we all benefit from. Visit www.campaignforwharton.com to make a gift.
I hope you all find ways to get involved and improve your own alumni experience. As I begin my two years as Chairman, I will strive to ensure we continue to build the best alumni environment possible.
In closing, I would also like to thank my predecessors. Craig Enenstein, WG’95, G’95, has been a great friend and leader, and he will continue to serve on our board as Chairman Emeritus.
I look forward to working with many of you in the years ahead. Thank you for everything you do to make our alumni network the best in the world.
Rob Newbold, WG’99
