Reaching alumni around the nation, the Momentum 2 Presidential Reception Tour is an opportunity to share our news with friends and supporters as we prepare to launch our fundraising campaign, the Momentum Campaign: Extraordinary Impact. At each stop across the country, our alumni will be sharing stories of the extraordinary impact of their Adelphi education.
Ninety-year-old alumni and 18-year-old prospective students are being brought together on the Momentum 2 Presidential Reception Tour, a multi-month trip to cities around the country led by Adelphi president Christine M. Riordan.
The Momentum 2 Presidential Reception Tour, which began with stops in Florida at the end of February, offers alumni opportunities to connect, reminisce, and expand their networks. It also serves as a launching pad for what’s to come: The Momentum Campaign: Extraordinary Impact, a $100 million comprehensive campaign launching later this year which will build on the University’s recent successes and growing national reputation. It is the largest fundraising campaign in Adelphi’s history.
Guided by the shared vision for growth in Adelphi’s Momentum 2 strategic plan, the campaign will support a range of initiatives to help the University make an extraordinary impact on our students’ lives and their communities, including:
- Scholarships and access to an Adelphi education to support social mobility
- Academic excellence to prepare students for a changing world
- Life-changing student experiences and opportunities
- A modern and beautiful campus to call home
- A diverse community where all students flourish.
“The Momentum Campaign is about more than just fundraising,” said Thomas Kline, EdD, vice president of advancement and external relations at Adelphi. “The goal is to engage our entire community—alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students—and build pride in the University. It’s really about reconnecting with people.”
Building cross-country connections with Adelphi alumni
The Momentum 2 tour stops in Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Miami and Naples, Florida, attracted roughly 250 alumni who came out to reconnect with the University and share their experiences.
“At our first event, two alumni from the class of 1953 attended, and they still had their strong school spirit,” Dr. Kline said. “We also had a prospective student. From elder alumni to new and incoming students, we all gathered together. Some alumni generously hosted events in their homes or at their clubs.”
The tour is also taking President Riordan to Georgia, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Colorado—and local stops in Long Island and New York.
“At every event, we ask attendees to reflect on their time at Adelphi and share what Adelphi means to them,” Dr. Kline said. “Social mobility is a common theme, such as with first-generation college students. People say that Adelphi gave them a chance and they wouldn’t be where they are today without the University.”
Dr. Kline also recalls a memorable lunch he had recently with a handful of former trustees.
“It was like having the band back together,” Dr. Kline said. “They shared memories of some of the most important decisions they made and reflected on the outcomes, such as the one to build the pioneering the Nexus Building (the 100,000 square-foot home of the College of Nursing and Public Health). That was a very meaningful experience.”
The Momentum Tour marches on
The Momentum 2 tour is set to extend throughout the rest of the year, and it may even become an annual event.
“Our alumni are really engaged and they’re voicing that they want more events, so we’re giving them what they want,” Dr. Kline said. One alumnus shared that she has three sorority sisters who live down the road, and she’ll bring them along next time President Riordan visits.
As Dr. Kline said, “We hope that everyone who came out to these events not only returns but brings a friend so we can continue to build our community of Panthers, strengthen the impact that the University has had on people’s lives, and connect with this strong alumni network that we’re so proud of.”