Suggested Events for your Club

When planning a schedule of events, keep in mind that most Chicago are busy with careers, families, continuing education, and other civic involvement. Alumni may only make it to one event per year. Make sure that you plan a variety of events, and experiment with different times and venues to see which engage the largest alumni audience. Resist the urge to over-program—three or four interesting, well attended events per year is a good goal to sustain a connected alumni community.

Hold regular planning sessions during the year and create a calendar of events that offers intellectual, social, and special events. Plan well in advance, and try to create programs that will engage local alumni with the broader Chicago community.

Events should be relatively easy to plan and execute; prices should be affordable for local alumni and result in the event breaking even. Here is a list of typical alumni club events, separated into categories that reflect the level of volunteer and staff effort, the potential costs to alumni attendees, and the relevance of the event to the goals and ideals of the alumni club. These suggestions are based on successful events organized by clubs around the country.

Cultural Events bring together alumni and friends in the spirit of the University of Chicago quest for knowledge and service to society. These events are formal programs and are run locally by alumni in their home club. They tend to be preceded or followed by a discussion led by a member of the alumni community. They have a cost associated to cover ticket or entrance prices and refreshments.

Events May Include:
Book Discussion groups
Career/Networking events
Cinema groups
Community service projects
Concerts
Guided Tours of local landmarks or museums
Theater productions

Social Events provide an informal opportunity for alumni to mix and mingle. Often a club will have one or more event of this kind during the year to welcome new participants and engage alumni new to the area.

Events May Include:
Athletic event (either participatory or cheering a team such as the Maroons)
Group meals at restaurants
Picnics or potlucks
Summer Sendoffs for new and current Chicago students
Walking tours
Wine tasting
Young alumni happy hours

Chicago Connection Events: These events are uniquely Chicago related. These events could be an alumni speaking to the club on a topic that they are an expert on, or an alumni showcasing their latest art exhibit. These types of events require advance planning and effort on the part of local volunteers and significantly more support from the Alumni Office. They also tend to be more expensive because as they can involve catering, site rental, audiovisual equipment. You may decide to organize such an event once or twice per year. You may experiment with different formats over the course of the years.

Events May Include:
Distinguished Speaker Series
Panel discussions by local alumni speakers
Performance and Discussion with play writes or performers

Intellectual Events (Harper Lecture Series): This is one of the biggest events of the year for a club. Please remember that not all clubs have a Harper Lecture. It is on a rotational basis and dependent on the club’s activity level. See Harper Lecture Series for details on what the Alumni Office will provide and what the Club is responsible for.