When the UMass Alumni Office conducted focus groups five years ago, it found that sports was one of the more popular ways that alumni forged lifelong emotional connections with the university, said Valerie Falk, associate director for events and programs. The immediately apparent problem, of course, was that these pastimes traditionally attract more men than women. That discovery sparked the formation of a committee dedicated to creating more events to attract alumnae. The idea of the conference is to give UMass women a better sense of communion, not only with the university, but with each other as a tangible group, much like many private and some public universities have managed to do. In fact, the only male guest speaker scheduled is UMass Chancellor David K. Scott, who will open the conference with a welcoming speech.
Registration is requested.