They serve on the Board of Trustees, the Alumni Board, reunion committees, and as admissions and Annual Fund volunteers. They lend their assistance and expertise as departmental reviewers and commonly return to campus to meet with students in various departments to discuss academic topics and give career advice. Our career exploration programs and internship opportunities are growing stronger because our alumni are committed to helping our current students think through some of the tough post-Carleton decisions they must make. With the large number of alumni who are connected with graduate programs, either as students or faculty, we have a wonderful network of insiders who can, and do, help students heading for graduate work evaluate various programs. No other group connected with the College can provide the essential link to our historical roots and fundamental principles.
Students are on campus for four years, faculty and staff for perhaps three or four decades at most.
Alumni, in a sense, never leave the College. They remind those of us on campus what Carleton has been all about and what our core values are. This awareness is invaluable in helping us see the future. To be successful, Carleton needs its alumni. As we enter the next century, advocates of a first-rate liberal arts education will be called on to speak out and continue to support these colleges in all the ways they have in the past, perhaps more.