A Message from the President
Greetings Fellow Alumni, Friends, and Parents,
We have recently completed a very successful 2007-08 year and I extend my appreciation to all CCGH members, volunteers, and our Board of Directors.
Your Club again sponsored a wide range of excellent programs. We were extremely fortunate to have Professor Glenn Altschuler kick off the year with a look at the 2008 elections, and we were delighted to have Professor CC Chu close out our year with a Faculty Speaker discussion on some fascinating medical advances. We hiked to Hublein Tower, we celebrated Zinck’s with Cornell alumns, and we were educated on international Architecture concepts by world famous architect Peter Eisenman. We took our families to the Children’s Museum, and with our Young Alumni we visited the New Britain Museum of American Art and took in a couple shows at Hartford Stage. And we had the opportunity to attend and root for many Big Red athletic teams, including of course Football and Ice Hockey!
Through the generosity of members and others we continued to increase our Scholarship Fund, which helps local Hartford area students afford a Cornell education. This year we provided financial aid to three local students. Our Book Awards program provided recognition to 32 local school students for their academic and extracurricular excellence, keeping Cornell’s name in the forefront of our high school students and faculty.
During the year, dozens of Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network (CAAAN) volunteers met with hundreds of local high school students who had applied to Cornell. These meetings helped Cornell establish a personal presence for the seniors and also helped Cornell make informed decisions about these applicants. These CAAAN volunteers play a huge role in recruiting and admitting outstanding undergrads. In fact, we had over 50 area students enroll - a record figure attributable in part to the hard work of our CAAAN group, our Book Awards, and the local presence of our Club.
Even as great as last year was, we are truly looking forward to next year. We again have events that cover Faculty speakers, Family and Young Alumni events, plus innovative new ideas combined with the classics like Zinck’s and Ice Hockey. Please stay on the lookout for email and postal mail with more details.
The Cornell Club of Greater Hartford provides a very valuable role in maintaining and enhancing Cornell’s presence in our local Connecticut communities. It provides a community where Cornellians can meet, socialize and learn. Your support, through your membership dues, your participation in our activities and our CAAAN program, as well as your donations to our Scholarship Fund and Book Awards Program, play a very critical role in our success.
Our volunteers and Board of Directors are also a key to our success. This group of very dedicated and talented Cornellians helps make this all possible. We have several new Board Members this year and look forward to the new thoughts and ideas they bring. If you would like to find out more about joining the Board, or have any ideas at all you think would be valuable to the Club, please don’t hesitate to contact one of the other board members or me.
Please be sure to join or renew your membership for the 2008-09 academic year, and help make next year even better. I look forward to seeing you at some of the wonderful events we have planned for this year!
Sincerely,
Eric Fairchild '91, MEng '92