Here at our beautiful Hintz Family Alumni Center, spring is in the air. Construction has begun on two of our new Alumni Gardens—the Rainbow Garden, financed by a $100,000 gift from alumna Cathy Rein '65 Lib, and the Water Garden, financed by a $275,000 interest-free loan from the University which the Alumni Association will repay over three years. These gardens are to be completed by mid-May, when we will be well on our way toward creating the gorgeous "campus-within-a-campus" our grounds will offer for the enjoyment of our returning alumni.

On the membership front, the "spring offensive" has begun as we strive to enroll 5,000 new members by June 30. We are planning direct mail appeals to 135,000 prospective Alumni Association members and 16,000 Penn State faculty and staff. In addition, we will be telemarketing to more than 50,000 prospective members in our largest such effort to date.

One of the main reasons for our membership campaign is to increase and enhance the diversity of our Alumni Association. Toward that end, your Alumni Association continues to support, financially and otherwise, various diversity initiatives across the University that demonstrate our commitment. Recent highlights include the February 4 appearance of Maya Angelou, the upcoming American Indian Powwow you can read more about inside, and the "We Are..." campaign being spearheaded by Undergraduate Student Government President Ian Rosenberger to promote greater civility and respect among members of our campus community.

For the future,

Roger L. Williams '73, '75g, '88g