Dear Alumni, Colleagues and Friends,

Today President Richard McCormick sent out an email to alumni highlighting a number of changes in the way Rutgers will relate to alumni. The university’s stated goal is to improve the bonds between Rutgers and graduates. The new system begins this summer. We are cautiously optimistic and look forward to a more engaging university.

This new arrangement will change the way the Cook Alumni Association (and some of the other school or college-based associations) will interact with constituents. The executive board is working on understanding and managing this change.  The Cook Alumni Association will continue to work with and for the entire Cook community – including alumni from any past and future colleges associated with Cook College or the new George H. Cook Campus. (See the proposed new logo at right.)

A major change will be that every Rutgers graduate will automatically, and at no cost, be a member of a new all-Rutgers alumni association to be called the Rutgers University Alumni Association or RUAA. The Cook Alumni Association expects to work with the new RUAA on Rutgers-wide programs and goals while maintaining traditional programs that Cook, CAES and Ag alumni have come to expect. Look for the alumni area at Ag Field Day and watch your mailbox or email in-box for news of the July Fish Fry, reunions and scholarship golf outing.

One challenging condition of working with the RUAA is that the Cook Alumni Association must agree to an across the board “no dues” policy. We also expect to lose significant income from existing shared marketing programs, such as credit cards and insurance plans, that have been associated with the Rutgers University Alumni Federation or RUAF. The RUAF, a federation of all the existing Rutgers alumni associations, is expected to fold this summer when university staff support is transferred from the RUAF to the RUAA.

Membership dues and profit sharing income allows the all-volunteer Cook board to maintain an alumni web site (www.cookalumni.rutgers.edu), fund scholarships, host programs, pay co-op students, send mailings to alumni, support student groups, support the Rutgers Gardens and the Cook History project, award student and alumni honors and more. If you are a current or past dues payer, or have participated in the credit card or insurance programs, we thank you for your support.

While our board has other financial assets to work with, the loss of these two income streams is a significant concern. It is not yet clear how much funding the RUAA will provide for programs or events that are not organized for the entire Rutgers community. The Cook Alumni Association will remain incorporated as a non-profit charitable organization and that may be a source of future income. Suggestions and assistance are welcome from alumni and others to help navigate this exciting, though challenging, time.

Until we meet again

Bethany Rocque-Romaine, CC ‘83

President, Cook CAES Alumni Association