Message from Bill Harkins ’67, President of the Alumni Society

The Alumni Society was very active during the Fall semester, with the career fair, open house for prospective students, the alumni retreat, other events and with Jaspers Helping Jaspers in finding jobs. Those of us who are active in the Alumni Society represent all alumni through our participation in these activities, as a reminder that life as a Jasper continues after graduation.

I participated in Dr. Brennan O’Donnell’s inauguration by giving the alumni “greeting.”  I took the opportunity then to say that I have heard comments from some older Jaspers poking fun at his prior employer. I said that I have been his biggest defender in that regard, pointing out to every Jasper that I come in contact with that he is not a Ram. Dr. O’Donnell’s undergraduate degree is from Penn State, so he is a Nittany Lion. I also detail his career path, noting that he taught at Loyola for 17 years. Finally, I explain that it was Manhattan’s plan to send him to that other college in the Bronx to prepare him for the big time!

A couple of recent events are worth mentioning. The New York City Club’s networking event in November, which had Dr. O’Donnell as its speaker, was a huge success, with over 100 alumni in attendance.  Similarly, the buffet dinner before the Fordham basketball game had 90 alumni in attendance, many of whom had not been back to the campus in years. The bonus was that our team then went out and won the “Battle of the Bronx”.

I encourage all alumni to be involved in the events that are available through the Alumni Society. Please feel free to give me your thoughts and feedback at harkinsw@aol.com.  Thanks and Go Jaspers!