Alumni Association

About the Association

Started by Liberty Hyde Bailey himself, the CALS Alumni Association (CALSAA) promotes fellowship and leadership among alumni, students, and faculty and advances the teaching, research, and extension functions of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University.

CALSAA focuses on providing lifelong learning, networking, and engagement activities for alumni, students, and friends of CALS. Additional foci include highlighting alumni success stories, showcasing CALS academic priorities, and recruiting the best and brightest prospective students.

There are many opportunities to be more involved with the CALS Alumni Association, CALS, and Cornell. The involvement opportunities chart contains more detailed information and ideas on how to become more engaged in the Cornell community.

The Alumni Association has a long history, and its success depends on the dedicated, thoughtful volunteers that carry on a legacy of excellence.

There are many ways to get involved with the CALS Alumni Association whether it's serving on a committee (see below) or being a director. We have several open positions. Please check our listings on CUVolunteer.

CALSAA Committees

The CALS Alumni Association Constitution and Bylaws allows for the creation of committees, under the direction of the Board of Directors, in order to carry out the goals and strategies of the association. The following boards are currently active:

• Executive Committee
  Oversees the business of the Association and conducts necessary business between meetings of the Board of Directors.
• Alumni Engagement Committee
  Identifies needs, effective programs, and other activities to cultivate alumni engagement and works to develop campus and regional events and celebrations to move alumni into roles of partnership and advocacy with the College.
• Nominations Committee
  Recommends Association members for appointment to the Board of Directors, a slate of officers for the Board of Directors, revised District boundaries, and builds a strong base of alumni volunteers.

• Grants Committee
  Over the course of two semesters, more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students apply for experiential learning grants through the CALSAA Student Enrichment Program. Each semester, committee members meet to review the applications to determine the recipients and how much each recipient will receive in grant money. 

  Funding for this program is made available in part through the Kathryn J. Boor ’80 Experiential Learning Fund. Funding is based on the amount of dollars available; if you would like to support the fund, you can make a gift here. 

• Planning and Marketing Committee
  Develops, for Board approval, the Association’s goals and strategies outlined within its Strategic Plan and tracks progress toward achieving these goals. Deals with other issues related to marketing, policy, structure and governance.
• Recognition Committee
  Selects and recognizes outstanding alumni, faculty, and volunteers through awards and public recognition.