My name is Lynn Macdonald ’72, and I am starting my term as president of the WWU Alumni Association Board of Directors. I’m excited to introduce myself and to share the board’s mission and goals as we move into a new fiscal year.
After receiving my bachelor’s degree and my teaching credentials at Western, I taught for 25 years in public secondary schools. Then, I began work as an advocate for public school employees. For the last several years, I have been honored to serve on the WWU Alumni Association Board. I see this as another way to support my passion for public education and to give back to my alma mater.
Having served under the leadership of former Alumni Board presidents Chris Witherspoon ’94 and Shawn Kemp ’98, I learned through their examples. With their efforts, alongside the 28 members of the board, the Alumni Association has thrived, growing in both influence and size, and serving as a valued ally of the students, alumni, and university.
The board is guided by three primary goals:
- To increase scholarship assistance to deserving students.
- To develop innovative programming and networking
- opportunities for alumni and students. To enhance WWU’s local and national reputation.
I’d like to share some thoughts about how to achieve these goals given what we’ve experienced over the last year.
- We join with President Randhawa in our focus on issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We need to redouble our e orts to make our policies and programs inclusive and anti-racist. It is not enough to be mindful of the challenges facing BIPOC communities, we must actively work for justice as a long-term commitment.
- We must prepare for hard times when the need for assistance is most urgent. To ensure we can always help deserving students, we will increase our membership numbers and grow our endowed scholarship and operating funds to act as a buffer during tough economic times.
- We will focus on strengthening our alumni community and celebrating our ties. Soon, we will again hold in-person events to renew old, and create new, relationships. Together, we can do a great deal.
I invite you to become an Alumni Association member if you are not already. If you are, thank you for your ongoing support. We have done great things together, and we have only just begun. Go Vikings!