From the Alumni Director

FrIeNDS & FAMILY

Dear Alumni and Friends,

Greetings from McMurry University and the Office of Alumni relations. In this issue of the Chieftain, we have read about the courage of McMurry students, faculty, and alumni who have overcome certain obstacles in their lives to reach new heights. Not only can we find inspiration from these individuals, but we can look to McMurry and be proud of all our alumni who exhibit that same strength and resolve. As we all know, these are uncertain times that we live in and we have all faced the difficulties that have presented themselves in the last few months. Despite those challenges, there is a sense of optimism on our campus demonstrated by the support of our alumni and friends. recently, the Office of Alumni relations adopted three key words to summarize our efforts. Those words are: Connect, Engage, and Involve. McMurry alumni and friends have connected and continued their engagement with the University in a variety of ways. In October, we launched McMurry Nation, our new alumni website and online community. In a few short months, we have registered over 800 alumni and friends for the community. For those of you who have registered, stay tuned because new upgrades will be rolling out shortly that will improve our community and the ways in which you will be able to utilize it. For those of you who haven’t joined McMurry Nation yet, log in to http://nation. mcm.edu and see what we have to offer. McMurry alumni have also connected with the University though alumni gatherings we have hosted around the state. In the last three years, attendance at alumni gatherings has increased and participation from you has been fantastic. Alumni volunteers in their respective towns and cities have volunteered to help organize, plan and implement gatherings. As the Director of Alumni relations, it is so much fun to attend these gatherings and reconnect people with their McMurry experience by seeing friends and classmates, some of whom they have not seen in years. The involvement of our alumni has also been exemplified through the service of your Alumni Board of Directors. In the past year, they have reorganized and restructured the Board, resulting in an increased sense of pride, ownership and effectiveness. Committees of the Alumni Board of Directors meet on a regular basis to work on projects that help increase awareness of McMurry by its alumni base and to discuss issues which are important to the alumni of McMurry University. I want to thank Dale evers, who recently completed his service as President of the Alumni Board of Directors. Dale has been a committed and dedicated servant on your behalf for many years, and we will miss his service. We look forward to welcoming Chris Montoya as the new President of the Alumni Board. Thanks to all of you for your commitment and dedication to our McMurry. We look forward to the next year as we continue to Connect, Engage and Involve.

Ala Cumba,