INTL alumni development focuses on Asia

Bill Woods, director of International Advancement, and Jolene Jackson, former director of International Student Services, traveled in March 2006 to Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan in an effort to develop contacts with Western Michigan University’s alumni in those countries.   

The three nations were chosen for strategic reasons.  Singapore was the site of three WMU-MBA degree programs offered at WMU’s partner, Center for American Education. Just forty-five minutes north of Singapore is Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, the center for over 2,500 Malaysian alumni.  This total may reflect the largest number of Malaysian alumni of any American university or college.  The final stop was Tokyo.  Organized by the “Friends of Western Michigan University in Japan,” a dinner of the Friends leadership was held at the Keio University Alumni Center. 

An informal dinner was held on March 3 in Singapore at a popular café in the Holland Village district of the city.  All eight invited guests attended along with a representative from WMU’s local partner, CAE.  The alumni in Singapore have a small group that periodically meets to discuss issues of mutual interest and to network in an effort to expand social and professional contacts.  The consensus was strong for a formal club to be formed with central campus support in 2007.

On March 7, a reception was held for about fifty-five WMU alumni at the Sunway Lagoon Hotel (adjacent to Sunway College).  This group was enthusiastic about forming a chapter or perhaps two for Bronco alumni. A dozen alumni volunteered to assist in the effort. The networking of alumni in Malaysia is impressive and they use their “old school” ties to great advantage.  The Haenicke Center hopes to have a formal organization in place in Malaysia by the end of 2006.  Malaysia may hold the greatest potential for alumni development of any nation from which WMU has drawn students.   

On March 10, a plan was reviewed and accepted by the Japanese alumni group to hold an event in March 2007 in honor of Dr. Michitoshi Soga, Professor Emeritus of Physics, for whom the new Soga Japan Center (at WMU) is named.  The leadership group, “Friends of Western Michigan University in Japan,” is seeking WMU’s help in locating Japanese alumni beginning about 1980.  Most of the current membership attended WMU in the 1960’s.  A gift of $20,000 was received by Mr. Woods during the dinner, bringing the endowment total held by the WMU Foundation to $200,000. 

The most immediate need in international alumni development is the construction of a database to contain current e-mail addresses.  In an effort to address this, an International Alumni webpage is being developed. Included in the webpage will be an international alumni registry section that will assist graduates who want to keep in touch with events on the WMU campus or who wish to network or communicate with classmates they’ve lost track of over the years.   It is hoped that the website will attract alumni interest and elicit email addresses in the process.  

Website address: http://international.wmich.edu/ “international alumni.”     

W. Wilson Woods, director of International Advancement, Diether H. Haenicke Institute for Global Education, w.woods@wmich.edu, 387-3956,