On Your Mark, Get Set, Go

By Jacqueline Molik Ghosen

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- To increase class spirit and encourage participation in the annual fund, the School of Management is sponsoring a new initiative, the “Alumni Class Challenge.”

The Alumni Class Challenge is a competition among all School of Management alumni classes to achieve the highest participation in making gifts to the school’s annual fund. Classes will compete against other classes within their decade of graduation. For example, all classes from the 1980s will compete against each other for that decade’s top spot.

Alumni can take part in the challenge by making a gift or pledge payment to the annual fund between Oct. 15 and Dec. 31.

“Our goal is to increase the number of people making gifts to the annual fund, rather than focus on the amount of money raised,” says Cynthia Shore, senior assistant dean for alumni and external relations in the School of Management. “The annual fund helps provide resources for student scholarships, faculty research and facility improvements. No contribution is too small to make a difference.”

The top class in each decade and the faculty who taught these classes will be invited to a celebration reception hosted by the School of Management Alumni Association.

The class with the highest participation rate overall will be profiled in “The Story of a Great Class” on the School of Management website, which will feature class and personal photos, faculty quotes, class memories, favorite hangouts, student club activities, “Where are they now?” stories and much more.

Finally, every alumnus who makes a gift to the annual fund during the Alumni Class Challenge will be entered into a drawing to have one of eight $2,000 scholarships named in their honor.

Arjang Assad, dean of the School of Management, is a strong supporter of the Alumni Class Challenge. “Alumni support is critical to elevating our success as an internationally recognized business school, and therefore helps increase the value of a UB School of Management degree,” Assad says. “This challenge is an excellent opportunity to impact not only our current students, but all of our alumni as well.”

For more information, contact Tom McArthur, associate director of alumni and external relations, at tm53@buffalo.edu.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.