  | Lincoln Almond '85 sees volunteers as the life blood | |||||
The Alumni Association Welcomes President Lincoln AlmondBy Jim Beardsworth '95 You may know him as the son of Rhode Island Governor Lincoln C. Almond '59 and First Lady Marilyn Johnson Almond '58. And now the younger Almond has just assumed a new post of his own that will require leadership, organization, oversight, creativity, and the ability to build consensus. No, he is not taking on the political world, but he has just begun a two-year term as president of the URI Alumni Association. With more than 36,000 alumni in Rhode Island alone and almost 80,000 URI graduates scattered across the country, keeping people in touch and up-to-date on all of the University's happenings is no small task. But the new president, a 1985 graduate in accounting, is up to the challenge. "It's not easy. You have to find people capable of serving in a leadership role and then find those who want to serve," says Almond, who is a partner in the Providence law firm of Edwards & Angell. "The key is keeping good people on." With more than a dozen committees covering everything from government relations, publications, volunteer recruitment, Homecoming, membership, and more, there is a lot to be done over the course of a two-year term. Almond officially took over the post from outgoing president Alan Wasserman '75 on June 1 during Alumni Weekend. Prior to the changeover, Almond served as president-elect for a year and as vice president for two years, and that has helped to prepare the way. Almond says he sees the goals of the association as two-fold. First, he says, the Alumni Association must give people an opportunity to network through such events as Alumni Weekend, the Winter Gala, Homecoming, and reunions. Secondly, the Association must help the University by keeping alumni connected and active while also encouraging donations. Almond views URI as a dynamic place that is constantly changing for the better. Part of the goal of the Alumni Association is to support and promote that growth, which includes URI's ability to attract highly qualified students with strong academic backgrounds. "URI has become a top choice, no longer is it a 'safe school,'" he says. Almond is happy to work with members of the Alumni Association, both old and new. He is especially open to any alumni who want to give back to URI by donating their time, energy, and hard work. "If you want to volunteer, you're in," he says. "You can do it anytime. We are always looking for new blood. It doesn't have to be a lot of time. We are always looking for individual talent to be brought to the table." Almond recalled his first involvement with the Alumni Association when he and his wife, Lynn '84, started as members of the Winter Gala Committee. (The couple and their three sons, Zachary, Chase, and Kevin, live in Kingston just down the road from the University). He admits it was a lot of work, but he points out that the Gala, which raises money for scholarships, is one of the University's biggest fund-raisers. "The Gala Committee is very hard working--organizing the Gala is like putting on a full-blown wedding for 800 people every year." "It's been great fun for Lynn and me. You get to meet a lot of people you normally wouldn't--people in research, the arts, and students. In fact, the Gala would be impossible without the energy and enthusiasm that members of the Student Alumni Association put into everything from stuffing and mailing invitations to serving as ushers and guides at the event itself." Almond adds that his experience with the Alumni Association has really been an eye-opener for him as well. "You don't realize how many talented people have graduated from URI. It's not something you focus on when you are there." One of Almond's major challenges is presiding over the Alumni Association's transition from Davis Hall to its new home on Upper College Road and making the new facility a place that is friendly and welcoming for alumni and friends of the University. Construction of the new three-story wood shingle Alumni Center, which will also house the Division of University Advancement, is scheduled to begin this fall on the site of the old Sigma Chi fraternity house directly across from Independence Hall. "The Center is not going to look like an office building. It's going to be inviting," Almond says. "It's going to have a residential style with accessible parking so that alumni can easily drop in." With the new URI Foundation building almost ready to open and with this new Alumni facility, Almond says Upper College Road should really be a showplace for the University. Another important project the Alumni Association supports is the Convocation Center. "We need to try and leverage our new Convocation Center so that it can attract alumni back to campus," says Almond, who would like to use space in the new facility for alumni gatherings and receptions. "We have to find a way to get a bang out of this." Other projects Almond says the Association is committed to include developing Homecoming activities that attract families while generating new members and building better class reunions to strengthen the alumni network. "With such a large alumni base scattered all over the country--and the world--it's a struggle to keep track of everybody. It poses a challenge with email addresses constantly changing and people moving to make sure everyone is informed about events in time to make plans to attend them," says Almond. Despite the challenges at hand, Almond is confident the Alumni Association can continue to grow and provide the University with strong resources for outreach, development, and networking. "I think I have a good sense of what is happening on campus and can hopefully help," he says. Jim Beardsworth '95 graduated from URI with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. A resident of North Kingstown, R.I., he is the director of public relations at a local advertising and public relations agency. |
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