Dickinson College Announces Creation of Alumni & Family Center
An architectural rendering of the Dickinson Alumni & Family Center. The renovations, funded entirely by donors, will launch in fall 2022.
Remodeled Historic President's House Will Host Dickinson Alumni & Family Center
Dickinson recently announced the establishment of the new Dickinson College Alumni & Family Center, a project that will provide a welcoming space for alumni and parents while fostering deep connections between students and alumni and enhancing opportunities for the Dickinson alumni network. This fall, the college will break ground to transform the Historic President’s House at the corner of West and High streets in Carlisle into the home of the new Alumni & Family Center.
“By strengthening existing bonds throughout the Dickinson community, the new Alumni & Family Center will provide a vital link between the college’s past and its future,” said President John E. Jones III '77, P'11. “This makes a bold statement about our lifelong commitment to Dickinson students, alumni and families.”
The new permanent, centralized and forward-looking facility is designed to connect generations of Dickinsonians, augment classroom and lifelong learning, enhance the power of the worldwide Dickinson network and emphasize the college's lifelong commitment to Dickinson alumni and families. It will provide a welcoming setting where visiting alumni and parents—many of whom are experts in their fields—may interact with students, faculty and administrators, and with fellow alumni and parents. The center will include event spaces, gathering rooms and suites that will help bolster the college's ability to attract VIP visitors, who enrich the college's academic life in meaningful ways.
When complete, the center will become an integral part of every Dickinsonian's college journey, beginning with their first campus tour, when they may take part in visiting-family programs and services. As students, they will be invited to network with alumni at the center and to attend events and seminars featuring alumni and parent experts, as well as fireside chats with senior leaders and faculty. And as alumni, they'll be invited to return, rekindle connections, network, take part in lifelong-learning programs and share what they've learned with the next generation of students.
The establishment of the center is the latest step in the ongoing Dickinson Forward initiative, launched by Jones in 2021 to propel the college toward success through challenging times. The idea to transform the Historic President's House into an alumni center was first broached in a Revolutionary Challenge proposal written by Professor of Political Science Jim Hoefler, with the support of numerous alumni and students. A core group of dedicated alumni donors and leaders—and an enthusiastic response from the college's alumni and family communities—recently made it possible for the college to move forward with plans for the center.
"I want to thank the donors who’ve already gotten behind this effort and all of you who will join them in the months ahead," said Jones. "As an alumnus and parent myself, I am extremely excited to launch this effort. By strengthening existing bonds throughout the Dickinson community, the new Alumni & Family Center will provide a vital link between the college’s past and its future, while underscoring our promise that Dickinson belongs to all of us—and that we’re all Dickinsonians for life."
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Published June 6, 2022