Although she lives 1,700 miles away from Dallas in San Francisco, Andrea Zafer Evans (’88, ’06) stays connected to SMU through friends, serving on the Alumni Board and chairing its Travel and Education Committee.
Evans, who holds a B.B.A. from Cox School of Business, is the founder of Philanthropy Consulting Group, a firm serving nonprofit, grant-making and intermediary organizations. Like many long-distance alumni, she finds that an active alumni chapter and regular communications from SMU help bridge the miles
to campus.
Andrea Zafer Evans
“Katie Horgan (’06) heads up the Bay Area alumni group and does a great job of gathering local Ponies,” she says. “I also read my SMU Magazine, SMU Research and Cox Today cover to cover.”
From 2004-06, Evans returned to SMU during the summers to complete her Master of Liberal Arts degree. Alumni Board meetings also draw her back to Dallas.
“I obtained a great education and made lifelong friends at SMU,” Evans says. “Twenty years later, it’s my pleasure to serve alumni by finding ways for them to reconnect with SMU.”
The Travel and Education Committee creates opportunities for alumni to continue learning from SMU’s vast resources, both on campus and off. Education events on campus have included a private tour of the Meadows Museum and a panel discussion
on primary election politics with associate professors of political science Dennis Simon and J. Matthew Wilson.
“Off campus, the SMU-in-Taos Cultural Institute provides alumni with educational opportunities on diverse subjects,” she says. “In the future, we hope to bring SMU to alumni in cities throughout the country by offering one-day courses with our professors who are nationally recognized authorities in their fields.”
Also serving on the Travel and Education Committee are David Lively (’93), Charleen McCulloch (’70), Dennis Murphree (’69), Maria Sanchez (’06) and Tom Yenne (’74).
Other new Alumni Board committee chairs are Ken Malcomson (’74), Campus Outreach; Bill Vanderstraaten (’82), Regional Outreach; and Stewart Henderson (’81), Networking.
“Through our four committees, we are excited to be able to plan and present programs that will give alumni the opportunity to stay connected or re-engage with SMU in various ways,” says 2007-09 Alumni Board Chair Connie Blass O’Neill (’77).
For more information on the SMU Alumni Board and how to become a member, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 214-768-2586 or smualum@smu.edu.
Alumni Board
Nominations for the 2009 SMU Alumni Board will be accepted through Dec. 31. Alumni may nominate fellow alumni or themselves. For more information, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 214-768-2586 or e-mail smualum@smu.edu.
CHAIR Connie Blass O’Neill (’77)
PAST CHAIR Marcus Malonson (’93)
MEMBERS John Bauer (’66), Robert Cabes Jr. (’91), Stephen Corley (’90), Jennifer Hazelwood Cronin (’94), Regina Davis (’04), Stephanie Mills Dowdall (’81), Andrea Zafer Evans (’88, ’06), Mary Lou Gibbons (’77), Kim Twining Hanrahan (’92), Stewart Henderson (’81), The Hon. Blackie Holmes (’57, ’59), Ruth Irwin Kupchynsky (’80), Doug Linneman (’99), David Lively (’94), Ken Malcolmson (’74), Tamara Marinkovic (’91), Charleen Brown McCulloch (’70), Ryan McMonagle (’00), Jamie McComiskey Moore (’85), Dennis Murphree (’69), Elizabeth Ortiz (’03), Mark Robertson (’85), David Rouse (’95), Scott Rozzell (’71), Lisa Holm Sabin (’78), Maria Sanchez (’06), Jeffrey Thrall (’71), Bill Vanderstraaten (’82), Tracy Ware (’95), Jeff Ziegler (’84)