Black alumni come back to look forward

By Ruth Stevens on Sept. 29, 2006, 7:30 a.m.
Black Alumni Conference

Some 500 alumni, faculty, staff and guests are on campus this weekend for the "Coming Back and Looking Forward" conference sponsored by the University in partnership with the Association of Black Princeton Alumni. At a reception on Thursday evening in the Icahn Laboratory, alumni (clockwise from foreground) Veronica Anderson-Corpening and Charles Corpening, both members of the class of 1987, and Noel Gordon, a member of the class of 1986, talked with undergraduates Steven Brown and Nikki Bowen.

Photo by John Jameson 

The largest gathering of black alumni in the University's history will take place this weekend, Sept. 28-30, on campus.

Some 500 alumni, faculty, staff and guests are expected to attend "Coming Back and Looking Forward," a conference sponsored by the University in partnership with the Association of Black Princeton Alumni.

Events began with a reception on Thursday evening and will continue through a concert on Saturday evening. Conference sessions will open on Friday morning with welcoming remarks by President Shirley M. Tilghman.

"While the conference will provide opportunities to reflect on how Princeton has become stronger and more diverse over recent decades, the principal focus will be on identifying priorities and strategies that will enable Princeton to do an even better job going forward," Tilghman wrote in a letter to invitees. She also will lead a conversation with alumni on Saturday morning.

During the day on Friday and Saturday, participants will hear about campus diversity initiatives, the new Center for African American Studies and the University Center for the Creative and Performing Arts. Top-level administrators will lead sessions on admission, financial aid, finances, priorities and campus planning.

There also will be faculty lectures on topics ranging from the University's integrated science curriculum to neuroscience research to Hurricane Katrina and America's racial politics.

A panel discussion by several current students is planned about student life today. In addition, participants will be able to attend career networking panel discussions on topics including finance, nonprofits, law, the academy and health care.

The conference will close with a wrap-up session titled "Where Do We Go From Here?" and a dinner featuring concluding remarks by Cornel West, the Class of 1943 University Professor of Religion and a member of the graduate class of 1980. A concert by jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan, a member of Princeton's class of 1981, will follow the dinner.

The conference, which is open only to invited guests, is one of two large gatherings planned this fall focused on alumni of color. A second conference, "Kaleidoscope: An Alumni Conference on Race and Community at Princeton University," is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 9-11. It will be open to all alumni and will be presented in collaboration with the Alumni Association of Princeton, the Asian American Alumni Association of Princeton, the Association of Black Princeton Alumni and the Association of Latino Princeton Alumni. 

Related Stories

Conference focuses on diversity, Nov. 9-11 .

Princeton alumni and other University community members will gather on campus to focus on diversity issues during a conference Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 9-11. "Kaleidoscope: An Alumni Conference on Race and Community at Princeton University" is intended to bring together alumni, faculty, students, senior administrators and trustees to reflect on changes that have occurred at Princeton in recent years, to identify today's challenges and opportunities, and to look ahead. 

Kaleidoscope conference focuses on diversity issues .

Alumni and other University community members kicked off a conference on diversity by hearing from a former Princeton president who has spent the years since he left conducting groundbreaking research on the topic. President Emeritus William G. Bowen, who served from 1972 to 1988, gave the opening address at "Kaleidoscope: An Alumni Conference on Race and Community at Princeton University," which was held Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 9-11.

700 expected for second black alumni conference .

More than 700 black Princeton alumni plan to return to campus for the "Coming Back and Moving Forward" conference Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 22-24.

650 attend largest gathering of black alumni in University history .

At the largest gathering of black alumni in the University's history last weekend, emotions overflowed as people talked about change -- Princeton's transformation from their time as students and the transformation they can bring about through continued engagement. "It's very obvious to me that the Princeton of 2009 is very different from the Princeton of 1983, and even the Princeton of 2006," said Ken Bruce, a member of the class of 1983 and a past president of the Association of Black Princeton Alumni. "For many of us, our Princeton experience is complex," he added. "We love it.

'Coming Back' conference brings together University's black alumni .

The "Coming Back: Reconnecting Princeton's Black Alumni" conference, held Oct. 16-18, offered Princeton University's black alumni the opportunity to return to campus to participate in intellectual and social offerings. More than 750 undergraduate and graduate alumni and guests attended the conference — representing classes from 1962 to 2014, coming from more than 30 states and at least six other nations.

King Day celebration focuses on music, Jan. 15 .

The University will commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual King Day celebration at 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 15, in Richardson Auditorium of Alexander Hall. 

King Day celebrates music's inspirational power .

Princeton University honored the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 15 in Richardson Auditorium with a celebration of the inspirational power of music. The annual King Day ceremony featured a performance by acclaimed jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan, a 1981 Princeton graduate, and a keynote address by Princeton scholar Daphne Brooks, who traced music's central role in African Americans' struggle for equality from the days of slavery to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.