Latest news with #AlumniAssociation
Gulf Today
25-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
UoS opens Spain chapter of alumni body
In a significant step to broaden its global alumni network, the University of Sharjah has inaugurated the Executive Committee of its Alumni Association in the Kingdom of Spain. This marks the association's first regional chapter outside the Arab world and its seventh international and regional chpater overall. The launch was celebrated at an official gathering organised by the Alumni Association in collaboration with the UAE Embassy in Madrid, attended by Ibrahim Ali Al Nuaimi, Chargé d'Affaires at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Madrid., Dr. Salah Taher Al Haj, Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs, Dr. Amal Al Ali, Director of the Alumni Association Office, and Dr. Ahmed Al Mahdi, Director of the University's Scholarship Unit, alongside a distinguished group of graduates from various disciplines. The establishment of the chapter aims to foster enduring connections between alumni and their alma mater, empowering graduates to serve as ambassadors for the University of Sharjah at academic and professional forums worldwide. This initiative is set to further the University's vision and mission on the international stage. In his opening remarks, Ibrahim Al Nuaimi expressed his pride in this pioneering initiative, commending the university's dedication to strengthening ties with its graduates abroad. He stressed that such gatherings reflect the UAE's commitment to extending its academic and cultural influence globally, while also opening new avenues for collaboration between Emirati universities and their counterparts in Europe and Latin America. Dr. Salah Taher Al Haj, Vice Chancellor of the University, delivered a comprehensive presentation highlighting the University of Sharjah's most notable achievements. He underscored the University's status as a leading educational institution that seamlessly blends academic excellence with international engagement. Dr. Al Haj also outlined key aspects of the University's new 2024–2030 EDGE strategic plan, launched under the motto 'Excellence in Teaching together and Research that Matters to Our Community.' Dr. Amal Al Ali, Director of the Alumni Association Office, reviewed the Association's major accomplishments in recent years, noting that the launch of the Spain chapter is a continuation of its regional and international expansion. Previous executive committees have been established in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, Jordan, and Bahrain. Wafaa Laalaoui, the new committee chair, who holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from the University in 2021 and is currently a final-year Master's researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, expressed her pride in being part of the University of Sharjah, affirming the committee's commitment to strengthening alumni connections, building an interactive network that reinforces their academic and institutional identity, and encouraging active participation in scientific and community initiatives.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Durfee alumni event to spotlight scholarships, music and memories
The Durfee High School Alumni Association will host its annual meeting and awards program on May 22. According to a community announcement, the event will take place at 460 Elsbree St., Fall River (north entrance), starting with a social hour from 6 to 7 p.m. Students from the Durfee Culinary Arts Program will provide refreshments. The program begins at 7 p.m. and will honor around 25 seniors with four-year scholarships. Distinguished alumni William 'Bill' R. Eccles, Jr., '69, retired CEO of the Fall River Five Cent Savings Bank and a long-time community organizer; and Thomas 'Skip' Karam, '53, legendary basketball coach and athletic director at Durfee, will also be recognized. The Durfee Orchestra will perform under the direction of Nicole Turgeon. This story was created by reporter Beth McDermott, bmcdermott1@ with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at or share your thoughts at with our News Automation and AI team. This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Durfee High to celebrate alumni, students and community leaders
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Students reflect on journey to Palmer High groundbreaking
(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo) — On Monday, May 12, school leaders turned the dirt underneath the bell at Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, signaling the end of an era and the beginning of a new one for the city's oldest high school. Current student body President Connor Strange won't be able to see it as a student before graduating this year, but will come back at some point as an alumni when the work is done. 'It is bittersweet that change is happening however, I don't think that change is necessarily a bad thing,' Strange said. For months, there has been a lot of conversation about the changes coming to Palmer High School, including from the alumni base of Palmer High. 'There are as many thoughts and opinions about the renovation as there are alumni,' said Judy Owsley, the President of the Alumni Association for Palmer High School. Monday's groundbreaking ceremony started the first phase of the renovation, which will focus on remodeling the main building and adding an academic wing. Some did push back against making major changes at the high school, but for some, their minds changed when they were able to work directly with the school district and project leaders. Theo Square, the current senior class President, was one of them, and said the meetings allowed his skepticism about the remodel to fade. 'Having monthly meetings with them, naturally being able to talk directly to them, is really a nice thing to do,' Square said. Strange tells FOX21 News he was directly involved in the planning conversations for Palmer's planned face lift too. In those meetings, Strange said some student concerns were alleviated. While the start of reconstruction signals the end of the school year, Palmer High's class of 2025 will have to go on their way without experiencing the new building as a student, but many believe Palmer High will be better for the next generation because of the changes. 'Just be glad they'll have air conditioning,' Square said. Phase one of the Palmer High construction is set to be completed sometime in the summer of 2028. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
U-M alumni group says it will keep diversity scholarship funding for enrolled students
The University of Michigan Alumni Association changed course this week and said it will hold harmless currently enrolled students who received a scholarship designed to increase campus diversity. Last week, the association told students who received its LEAD scholarship that the program was ending "to ensure it is complying with federal and state laws as well as recent guidance from the federal government." This week, students got word that their scholarships would be honored for all four years. The email acknowledged that last week's cancellation announcement "caused stress and anxiety for you." "I'm pleased to share that there will be no adverse financial impact for the remaining time that you are enrolled at Michigan, as long as you remain in good academic standing," Alumni Association President Ayanna McConnell wrote to scholars in an email. Scholars were thrilled with the news, said Ana Trujillo Garcia, a 20-year-old junior from Lake Orion who is studying furniture and product design at U-M's Stamps School of Art & Design. "I was super excited. I was super happy," she said. "It was upsetting that they weren't going to honor it, so I'm super happy that they are honoring it." The scholarship name is an acronym for the four pillars of the program: leadership, excellence, achievement, and diversity. It's the diversity component that landed the scholarship program in trouble. Former U-M Flint professor Mark Perry filed a complaint about the scholarship with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights in March 2023. "For the first 15 years of the program, it was restricted to Black, Native American and Hispanic students," Perry said. "I looked into it and saw that it was clearly legally indefensible, a clearly racially discriminatory scholarship program. So I filed the complaint." Perry said his complaint is still pending but he said he thinks the Alumni Association had already made changes to the program to comply with Title VI of the Civil Right Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin. "Using the web archive, I was able to determine that sometime in early 2024, they changed the eligibility from Black, Hispanic and Native American, to any student regardless of race, who was the first time in any college," he said. "They were motivated to do that to help try to resolve their noncompliance with Title VI." With that modification, Perry said, he believes the scholarship does not discriminate and he expects the Office of Civil Rights to close his complaint. He said he was fine with the scholarship being honored for the scholars who had already planned on it. "I think there's a moral obligation to continue with what the students originally expected so, so that just seems kind of like a no brainer," he said. Contact John Wisely: jwisely@ On X: @jwisely This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: U-M LEAD scholars will keep diversity scholarship funding
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
U-M Alumni Association ends diversity scholarship program
The University of Michigan Alumni Association has ended its LEAD Scholars program, which provided scholarships to increase student diversity on campus. The program's page on the university website appears to have been scrubbed this week, leaving only a note of gratitude to donors and past scholars along with the news that it was ending. The move came as President Donald Trump's administration is scrutinizing colleges and universities for any use of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) measures, which it wants eliminated. Last week, the U.S. Department of Education listed U-M among 45 schools being investigated for "allegedly engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs." LEAD scholarships were only awarded to undergraduates but they were eliminated nonetheless. The department listed six other schools, including Grand Valley State in west Michigan, as being investigated for "alleged impermissible race-based scholarships and race-based segregation," according to the Department of Education. LEAD scholars learned this week that awards they received earlier this semester would be the last. "After careful review and consideration, and in order to apply with all applicable laws, the Alumni Association has made the decision to discontinue the LEAD scholars program, effective immediately," Ashleigh Hardy, director of student engagement, wrote to LEAD scholars this week. "As a result, all LEAD scholars programs are being discontinued." Hardy wrote that the association was committed to helping the impacted students find other sources of support and would host a meeting next month to answer questions and concerns. It also noted that all other Alumni Association programs would continue as normal. University spokeswoman Kay Jarvis referred questions about the decision to the Alumni Association. Robert Clendening, vice president of marketing and communications for the Alumni Association, told the Free Press in an email that the group was "not able to speak at this time." He did forward a statement reiterating the message from the program's webpage and noted that the scholarship had helped almost 900 students over the years. The association previously said that the program began in 2008 in response to a decision two years earlier by Michigan voters to approval Proposal 2. That was an amendment to Michigan's Constitution "to ban affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin for public employment, education or contracting purposes.' More: Patent law expert named new dean of U-M Law School Minority enrollment was already falling at that time following a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court case that the university lost. The court ruled that U-M's practice of awarding additional points to applicants who were "underrepresented minorities" violated the 14th Amendment and the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In a 2017 pitch to donors for the LEAD program, the Alumni Association said it "has committed to providing $10 million over the next 10 years to increase the number of scholarships available to African-American, Latino, and Native American students who have been accepted to the university." The program allowed applicants to compete for need-based scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 per year, which could be renewed for up to four years. They must already have been admitted to U-M, have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher in high school and have recommendations from a teacher or counselor. Among the requirements for the scholarship, applicants had to submit an essay "explaining how they exemplify all of the four pillars of LEAD: leadership, excellence, achievement, and diversity," according to an archived webpage from the program. The Trump administration has set its eyes on those kinds of measures as well, sending a letter in February to colleges and universities warning them about their nondiscrimination obligations. "A school may not use students personal essays, writing samples, participation in extracurriculars, or other cues as a means of determining or predicting a student's race and favoring or disfavoring such students," the letter said. Contact John Wisely: jwisely@ On X: @jwisely This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: U-M Alumni Association ends diversity scholarship program
