Establish A Chapter
Are you interested in establishing a chapter in your area?
To see if interest has been expressed in your area for a new alumni chapter, click here.
If so, contact Jasmine Stewart, Assistant Director of Alumni Programs at jasmine@uta.edu or 817-272-2594.
Establishing A New UT Arlington Alumni Chapter
These are the first steps that are taken in establishing a new UT Arlington alumni chapter:
Requirements
When local alumni and the Alumni Association agree that there is a strong likelihood of success, we begin a process that will yield positive results for all involved. These are the conditions we look for as we begin the chapter creation process.
- Reasonable number of alumni in an area to support a chapter and to ensure all goals can be accomplished.
- Enthusiastic initial organizers with several years’ worth of successors recruited.
- Regular contact with UTA Alumni Association chapter staff for sharing accurate and timely information and services.
The Process of Creating a New Chapter
- Because the Alumni Association is the chartering organization for The University of Texas at Arlington alumni chapters, all interested parties should contact the chapter coordinator as a first step in starting a chapter.
- There should be at least three hundred alumni within driving distance of each other.
- An interested local alumnus or alumna agrees to be the designated contact and often becomes the inaugural President.
- UTA Alumni Association staff produces and emails or mails a survey to determine regional interest in organizing a chapter. The survey helps to identify willing volunteers and ascertain the demand for various chapter projects and activities. The designated local contact receives the results, and identifies others to serve as an organizing group.
- If all parties agree that enough interest exists, the organizing group schedules a preview meeting or conference call with the Assistant Director for Alumni Programs.
- The organizing group conducts one to two organizational meetings to set goals & objectives for its first two years, elects its two primary officers (president and secretary) and then, drafts a letter (Appendix A) petitioning the Alumni Association Board of Directors for chapter status.
- When officially recognized as a chapter, the group can hold a kick-off event or first official chapter meeting in which constitution and by-laws are written, membership applications are passed out and then all are submitted back to the Alumni Association.
Resources and Support Available to Developing Chapters
Recognizing that chapters do not thrive on the sheer exuberance of a small group of loyal alumni, the Alumni Association pledges that the chapters staff will focus more on first-year chapters, initiating contact, meeting with the organizing group, and staying in contact with the chapter president. UTA Alumni Association will pay for all mailings (within reason) during the first-year period. Support money is not available until a chapter is officially recognized by the Board.
For more information contact:
UT Arlington Alumni Association
Attn: Alumni Chapters
Box 19457
Arlington, Texas 76019
ph: 817.272.2594
fax: 817.272.2597
alumnichapter@uta.edu
