The Institute of Technology Alumni Society (ITAS) won
several major awards for the quality and depth of its
achievements and contributions during 1999-2000.
ITAS received the 2000 Grand Gold Award, an ad hoc
award that recognizes sustained excellence in programming.
The UMAA also honored ITAS with the Program Extraordinaire
Award for the 2000 Science and Technology Banquet.
Last April, the most successful Science and Technology
Banquet in ITAS history raised $35,000 for student scholarships—an
amount that exceeded our goal by $12,000. Nearly 800
people attended the banquet, which featured keynote
speaker John Seely Brown, chief scientist of Xerox Corporation.
We're very grateful to all of our contributors and alumni
for their support and hard work on behalf of IT students.
More than 80 members of IT's class of 1949 returned
to campus last fall to celebrate their 50th anniversary
reunion, organized and sponsored by ITAS as part of
its mission to create lifelong connections among alumni.
Looking ahead to fall 2000, ITAS also began planning
a 50-year reunion for the class of 1950 and a 25-year
reunion for the class of 1975, to be held in October.
Co-sponsored by IT Student Affairs, the IT Mentor Program
involved over 444 participants in 1999Ø2000, making
it the University's largest mentor program. The revised
and enhanced mentor program web site now features an
automated system for matching mentors and students.
The system was developed by ITAS volunteer Mike Cepek,
winner of the UMAA's 2000 Hats Off Award for his contribution.
Thanks to the generosity of our ITAS mentors and our
corporate sponsors, we've been able to increase the
number of students who can participate in this extremely
popular program.
Our outreach efforts included the IT Public Lecture
Series, which sponsored two events, and the development
of an Internet portal for the K-12 education initiative.
The web site will connect educators with hundreds of
programs, ideas, materials, contacts, and other resources
within the University and the business community.
We're dedicated to making sure that ITAS remains a
vital, effective organization. We conducted a survey
of our members to learn how ITAS can improve and expand
its programs and services. We also established an ad
hoc strategic planning committee that will review ITAS'
mission and objectives, identify areas of future need
and interest, and build ties to other professional and
alumni societies on and off campus.
I'm pleased to report that ITAS met the goal of increasing
its membership level to 6,000 last year. If you're not
already a member, I encourage you to get involved in
ITAS and contribute your time and talents to a very
special and effective organization. You can find out
more about membership and its benefits on the UMAA web
site (www.umaa.umn.edu).
The University will celebrate its 150th anniversary
in 2001, so now is a perfect time to contact ITAS
online,
by phone or in person, and see what's in it for 'U'!
It's been a great honor to serve as ITAS president
for the 1999-2000 term, and I am grateful for all your
efforts and support on behalf of IT during this remarkable
year.
