About the LAS Alumni Council Board

About the LAS Alumni Council Board

For more than 30 years, the mission of the LAS Alumni Council Board has been to encourage, enhance, and sustain the relationship between the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and its alumni by promoting the value and importance of a liberal arts and sciences education.

On October 5, 1984, an LAS alumni charter of the University of Illinois Alumni Association was formed, adopting the first set of LAS Alumni Association Bylaws. This newly formed charter, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Alumni Association, comprised of 10 LAS alumni board of directors—Timothy Bertschy, Robert Danley, Sue Danley, Frederick Dearborn, Clare Haussermann, James Kearns, Kent Schielke, Robert Sinclair, Edith Stotler, and Richard Wilberg. To this day, the LAS Alumni Council remains a valued partner and constituent group of the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

Alan Hausserman was named the association’s first president with Joseph Zalar as president-elect. Jesse Delia, then the dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, hired the first alumni relations director to engage alumni through events, programs, and new initiatives. The first LAS newsletter was produced and a substantive list of quality alumni programming was launched with the support and assistance of the Board of Directors.

For the next 30 years, the LAS Alumni Association engaged alumni, built lasting relationships, and developed a strong sense of pride in its alumni base. The organization hosted broad-based events held in high concentrations of LAS alumni populations. These events showcased keynote faculty and alumni speakers and demonstrated the academic excellence of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the University of Illinois. The organization developed an alumni awards program that highlighted its exceptional alumni and what a liberal arts and sciences education can accomplish.

Today, the LAS Alumni Council stands strong and continues to promote the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences by building lifelong connections with alumni, hosting alumni events, sponsoring an awards program, supporting student initiatives, and assisting the college in its academic endeavors.

Our accomplishments

The LAS Alumni Council has entertained thousands of alumni and friends at signature events spanning a multitude of topics from history to health to sports to culture. The organization has showcased hundreds of keynote faculty and alumni speakers throughout the years.

Since 1987, the LAS Alumni Council has present many awards to LAS alumni recognizing their significant discoveries, creative innovations, devoted and exceptional service, and amazing humanitarian efforts.