Cornell Black Alumni Association

CORNELL BLACK ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

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Alumni House

626 Thurston Avenue

Ithaca, NY 14850-2490

Website: Cbaa1976.com

Sharing the vision

of our education

October 2007

Dear Cornell Black Alumni Association Members and Friends,

Through your participation and donations, July 2006 through June 2007 was a great year. Over half of our members are Lifetime Members (now $300), a tribute to your accomplishments and devotion to CBAA. We held exciting events in NYC, Philadelphia, DC, Ithaca, Atlanta, and Chicago, and continued to provide other avenues for alumni to stay connected such as our newsletter, website, Message Board, and Yahoo group. In March 2006, we held our first annual Scholarship Auction and Fundraiser at Madison Square Garden, and enjoyed a NY Knicks game afterwards.

Building on the success of CBAA’s 30^th Anniversary Reunion held in June 2006, we are now planning our next reunion, CBAA Update 2009. Update 2009 likely will break prior attendance records and again provide opportunities for relaxation and rejuvenation through seminars, alumni interactions, and social events. Reunion Co-Chairs, Deborah Arrindell ’79 and Donell Hicks ’97, are looking forward to hosting you.

Our goal remains “to share the vision of our education.” Our status as Cornell’s oldest minority alumni organization warrants a renewed commitment to ensure that young Black men and women, particularly inner city youth, can continue to attend our alma mater and explore courses relevant to the African American experience. We must continue to urge Cornell, through our voices and monetary support, to strengthen and expand opportunities for Black students, an “underrepresented minority” at Cornell. CBAA must continue to serve as a resource for our youth.

Recruitment and retention of talented Black students requires a renewed commitment to serve as volunteers and to raise funds for Cornell. Our goal is to raise $150,000 annually for the CBAA scholarships and the Africana Studies and Research Center (AS&RC) with a fundraising total of $450,000 by Update 2009 Reunion. Last year, only a few of the 3,600 Black Alumni who received our fall mailing contributed.

Please consider joining CBAA and donating $200 annually. I especially urge CBAA’s lifetime members to donate annually and reaffirm your commitment to Cornell. Donors to the AS&RC Fund will be listed on a plaque at the Africana Center, memorializing CBAA’s commitment for posterity. Our next fundraiser is the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Reception and Concert in NYC in early December 2007. If you can’t attend, by all means donate. You can make a tax-deductible donation by writing a check payable to Cornell University and completing the dues card included with this mailing. You may also use the enclosed form to join CBAA and pay by credit card. Make your check payable to CBAA for CBAA dues only.

Become an active CBAA member, donate regularly to Cornell, and improve the lives of young people. Members are needed to serve as Regional Representatives in Boston, California and Greater New York, and on the Fundraising, Scholarship, Programming, Reunion, and Student Relations Committees. To join, donate, volunteer, and/or access our Fall 2007 Newsletter with information about CBAA events, go to our website, www.CBAA1976.com. Be sure to keep your email and first class mail addresses current so we can keep you informed about events throughout the year.

Mitzi Young ’77

CBAA President 2006-2009