Chair of the Board of Trustees Christopher Norton ’76, Lisa Schmid Alvord, Trustee Joel Alvord ’56, and Head of School Sheila Culbert gather in front of the Alvord Center. Photo: Wayne Dombkowski
Newly Named Alvord Center Expands Its Mission T the dedication. “After a good deal of discussion … and collaboration across departments, the prospect of officially folding environmental studies and our sustainability efforts into the Center for Global Studies emerged, … and there was an overwhelmingly positive response from all parties.”
RUSTEES, Head of School Sheila Culbert, faculty, and students dedicated the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies on May 7 in the Katharine Brush Library. Formerly the Center for Global Studies, the Alvord Center has expanded its mission and will benefit from additional resources thanks to a significant gift from Trustee Joel B. Alvord ’56 to Our Time Is Now: The Centennial Campaign for Loomis Chaffee.
“Loomis opened up an expansive world to me,” Joel shared at the dedication ceremony, further explaining that his longtime interest in global issues and recognition of the importance of environmental literacy seemed a perfect match for the center’s newly expanded mission. “My family and I are very honored and proud to have such a vibrant and lasting connection to Loomis,” he said. The center, in its original iteration, was founded in 2012 to promote a
course of academic study, extracurricular involvement, and travel experience that would develop in Loomis Chaffee students interest in, understanding of, and engagement with the peoples, cultures, and regions of the world, along with the skills to become leaders in it. “After two years in operation, we determined that the mission of and program offered by the Center for Global Studies could only become stronger with an environmental component,” explained Sheila at
The mission of the Alvord Center is to promote global and environmental literacy, sustainability, and engagement. Aside from coordinating the global and environmental studies curriculum across all departments and overseeing the Global & Environmental Studies Certificate program, the center manages Loomis’ international education programs, promotes institutional environmental sustainability efforts, and administers several endowed funds, including the Bussel Family International Lecture Fund, the Bussel Fund for Study and Travel Abroad, the Jonathan M. Kelly ’81 Faculty Fund for Global Studies, and the Gilchrist Sustainability Endowment Fund.
The center’s work is overseen by Alexander McCandless, the Christopher H. Lutz Director of the Alvord Center; Jeffrey Dyreson, director of environmental/sustainability initiatives and associate director of the Alvord Center; and Marley Matlack, director of international education programs and associate director of the Alvord Center. “As we dedicate the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies,” concluded Alec at the May ceremony, “we renew and we strengthen our commitment to the education of our current and future students, and we eagerly await their contributions to the betterment of our world.” Learn more about the Alvord Center at www.loomischaffee.org/AlvordCenter and about Our Time Is Now: The Centennial Campaign for Loomis Chaffee at www.loomischaffee.org/ campaign.
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