2023 has been the year of learning how to do things again. While much remains familiar, the fundamental differences of a post-pandemic world require us all to adapt and readjust, both personally and professionally.
As we navigate the new normal together, the Caltech Alumni Association is committed to fostering even stronger bonds within the Caltech and alumni community.
At the start of the year, the CAA Board of Directors approved a strategic investment designed to emphasize and revitalize alumni connection. In collaboration with CAA staff, we have not only brought back our hallmark on-campus events both online and in-person, including the Alumni Weekend and Reunion Celebration and Seminar Day, but also brought CAA to you.
This year, we unveiled our “Caltech In…” with regional events in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Boston, and San Diego (plus Chicago and Seattle in July 2022). As a result, we witnessed the gathering of more than 300 alumni spanning 63 years of Caltech classes (1960 to 2023) to meet, learn, and bring a bit of that Caltech spark to the communities in which Techers live, work, and play.
We also continued to address the unique challenge of bringing CAA far and wide—to scale up our reach in a short period of time. Our Caltech community is marked by a “can-do” attitude that specializes in overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges (Ditch Day memories, anyone?). This resulted in Tables for Techers, a worldwide, alumni volunteer-led weekend for Techers to gather socially with their local Caltech community at small events, enjoy a meal, and build new connections. More than 110 Techers across 23 states and six countries volunteered to host or co-host, and 457 Caltech community members registered to attend. We know that new and lasting connections were made across class years, majors, and experiences, and we look forward to continuing the Tables for Techers momentum in the years ahead.
Now that we are back to being active in our communities, what’s next? As our alumni population grows each year (we added 518 new alumni to our midst at our 2023 Commencement!), the Board is focused on building more collaborative opportunities with our campus partners so that every Caltech student is aware of and can tap into the power of the Caltech network, starting the minute they arrive in Pasadena. This increased engagement will better connect the Caltech campus with our 25,282 alumni around the world.
And we’d love your help. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for PeopleGrove so that you can share your expertise with our Caltech community and perhaps make a difference for some of our newest Caltech colleagues.
Finally, in the spirit of reconnection and revitalization, the Board and the CAA staff would like to make sure we reach out to and hear from Techers everywhere. If you need to update your contact information, please do so via the Update My Contact form. To help us reduce operating costs for conducting CAA business, please consider opting in for electronic voting by completing and following the return instructions on CAA’s Consent to Use of Electronic Transmissions form.
This will help CAA ensure that we focus our resources on what we and all Techers are working to achieve–deeper alumni connection to ensure the success and well-being of every member of the Caltech alumni community.
Jennifer Lee, PhD ’10
Board Chair, Caltech Alumni Association
