Alumni Association 135 Years
1874 - 1920s
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| Memorial Hall under construction (courtesy Special Collections and University Archives) |
According to an article in a 1937 issue of the Alumni Bulletin, the first meeting of the Associate Alumni was held on July 15, 1874 in what was then the Botanic Museum at Massachusetts Agricultural College. During this meeting, a constitution was adopted to define the Association’s mission “to promote, in every proper way, the interests of the College, to foster among the graduates a sentiment of mutual regard, and to promote and strengthen their attachment to their Alma Mater.”
The article goes on to say, “Even with the best of intentions, the average Alumnus can do but little for the College as an individual. But as a strong, well-organized body of many Alumni, the Associate Alumni can do, and since 1874 has done, much for the best interests of Massachusetts State.”
With the intention to keep alumni connected and well-organized, the Association maintained manual records for the close to 5,000 graduates and former students at that time. The hand-written records included biographical and contact information, a geographic index, and a grouping by occupations, industry, and business.
This information proved invaluable during the fundraising campaign to construct Memorial Hall. In 1919, alumni set forth a plan to raise $150,000 to build a campus memorial to commemorate the MAC men who died during World War I. The Associate Alumni secured construction plans and conducted a fundraising campaign that included mailings and alumni rallies across the country. Alumni Memorial Hall was dedicated to the memory of MAC’s war dead on June 21, 1921.
The Associate Alumni was also dedicated to documenting the history of MAC. In 1933, the Association published Yesterdays at Massachusetts State College written by Professor Frank Prentice Rand. The book detailed the early years of the land-grant college from its inception in 1863. In addition, news, class notes, and developments on campus were recorded in the Alumni Bulletin, an illustrated magazine sent ten times each year to all members.
From these early beginnings, the Alumni Association continued to grow and develop as an influential force on campus. In September, we’ll look at the Association’s next era and the role it played in UMass Amherst history.
Read about the Alumni Association growth in the years to come:
1930s - 1950s
Special thanks to the Special Collections & University Archives