Associated Alumni Files (OF-1S-1)

Biographical/Historical Note

The Associated Alumni was incorporated in 1919, when the organization known as the Alumni Association until 1891 and as the Associated Alumni since 1892 reorganized under a new constitution designed to involve the alumni in closer cooperation with the University. The first meeting of an alumni association recorded was in 1823. A later alumni association was formed in response to resolutions by Professor William G. Goddard at a meeting of the alumni on September 6, 1842, with the intent of bringing together annually the graduates of the University to attend literary exercises and share a dinner.

In 1868 President Caswell revived the association by inviting the alumni to a meeting before Commencement to consult on the interests of the University, specifically the founding of scholarships. A committee of the alumni reported in 1869 in favor of a permanent association to meet annually at Commencement and recommended the formation of local associations. Thus the Brown Clubs began, as the local associations were established in New York in 1869, and in Philadelphia and Boston in 1870. “Articles of Organization of the Alumni Association of Brown University” were adopted on June 25, 1872. A resolution passed the next year provided for the annual election of seven persons to constitute an Advisory Board of the Alumni to consult with the government of the University on matters relating to its interests and to submit suitable candidates for consideration in filling vacancies on the Board of Trustees. In 1875 the Corporation and the Alumni agreed on a plan allowing the alumni to vote on nominations for trustees of the University.

At the 1919 annual meeting a new constitution under the name, “Associated Alumni of Brown University, Incorporated” was proposed and accepted. The new constitution provided for the creation of an executive committee, the addition of a faculty member to the advisory board, the creation of a paid office of alumni manager, the establishment of an alumni register, and annual dues of three dollars. A further reorganization of the Associated Alumni in 1973 provided for an executive committee made up of the four elected officers, five appointed local directors, and 62 appointed regional directors. In 1973 the Alumnae Association merged with the Associated Alumni, and in 1979 Phyllis Van Horn Tillinghast ’51 became the first woman president of the Associated Alumni.