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the alumni network by Jenna Plakut, director of alumni relations I On the Road… With Dean Azar N TODAY'S INTERCONNECTED WORLD, a strong, organized and participatory alumni body will be vital as we move into the future. We hope to continue improving outreach with our alumni where they live by building opportunities, such as "clubs," in areas with high concentrations of our alumni. We hope these activities will provide both professional development and opportunities for networking with students and alumni. This spring, Dean Dimitri Azar met with alumni in Los Angeles and in three Illinois burgs—Gibson City, Dixon and Rockford— and the alumni office is working to put together programs ranging from social and cultural activities, to lectures and mentoring programs. On April 2, the College of Medicine hosted Los Angeles-area alumni at the Getty Villa at a brunch reception, where they met and heard from Dean Azar about his vision for medical education in the 21st century. The dean talked about how changes to curriculum and facilities will greatly improve the educational experience of current and future students. Alumni were given a docent-led tour of the luxurious Getty Villa grounds. The dean next traveled to Gibson City on May 16 for an alumni reception at the historic Bayern Stube restaurant. Practicing physicians and alumni of the Rockford campus' Rural Medicine program enjoyed an authentic German dinner and a few words from the dean about his goal of bringing together all campuses and all programs under the College of Medicine umbrella. Matt Hunsaker, MD, director of the RMED program, was also presented that evening with the 2011 Illinois Academy of Family Physicians President's Award. Dixon-area alumni reconnected at a reception at the Timber Creek Golf Club on June 13. Dean Azar had an opportunity to visit with alumni and hospital board members from KSB Hospital, where he thanked board members and administrators for their support and part- nership with the Rock- ford RMED program. Finally, 75 faculty, staff and alumni of the College of Medicine at Rockford gathered at the exquisite Anderson Gardens on June 14, where Rockford regional Dean Martin Lipsky introduced Dean Azar and welcomed guests to the Japanese-styled gardens. — Jenna Plakut PHOTOS: KEVIN LEE STUDIO AND BRIAN THOMAS PHOTOGRAPHY Dean Dimitri Azar visited this spring with alumni in Los Angeles and three Illinois cities: Rockford, Dixon and Gibson City. To learn more about alumni clubs and events, please call (312) 355-1171 or email jplakut@uic.edu. Like us on Facebook: Search 'University of Illinois College of Medicine' In early May, 278 MD students, 41 PhD students and 43 graduate students participated in the College of Medicine's 130th Commencement. The ceremony culminated years of medical training and education, intense study and sleepless nights. As the newly conferred Doctors of Medicine completed their formal assumption of the privileges and responsibilities of becoming physicians in front of their families and friends, I couldn't help but think about the thousands of alumni who have gone on to fulfill their own aspirations— and who, every day, practice those very same tenets of the Physician's Oath that our graduates swore to uphold at Commencement. As one of the largest medical schools in the country, we have more than 25,000 alumni who have retired from or now are positioned throughout medical centers, clinics, hospitals, universities, research centers, private industry and government—positively impacting their communities in a variety of ways. Our most recent graduates join this distinguished tradition. In the fall, we will welcome a new M1 class of students eager and fresh and anxious to begin their studies. The mission and goal of the College of Medicine Alumni Association is to provide a resource for both Jenna Plakut students and alumni—to promote the interests and improve the effectiveness of the college, to foster fel- lowship among our alumni, provide financial support and mentoring services for our medical students, and enhance opportunities for alumni and students to network. One of the ways that we are enhancing networking opportunities for alumni is by developing a College of Medicine profile on the University of Illinois Alumni Association Online Network. This online network will help us share information with alumni, connect alumni to each other, connect alumni to current students, list upcoming events and create a portal for alumni to search for one another based on specific criteria such as specialty or location. We will also create more of a social media presence for the college and its alumni using familiar platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook and interconnecting those with our online network. We also will continue to support the programming and traditional activities that we already have in place to connect and inform alumni, such as sharing alumni updates in this magazine and hosting our alum- ni reunion. This year's reunion took place Aug. 17-18, and we invited the classes whose years end in '2' or '7' to take part in our special celebration. We specifically honored our milestone reunion classes celebrating their 10th, 25th and 50th anniversaries (1962, 1987 and 2002). As you can see, we have some exciting new initiatives planned to better connect our alumni. We are developing strategies and activities to better engage you with your fellow alumni and to the college, whether it be the Chicago, Peoria, Rockford or Urbana campus—we are all one College of Medicine. We would love to hear from you about these programs and we welcome any suggestions or recommendations as to how we can service your needs and interests better. ILLINOIS MEDICINE | 37 PHOTO: LLOYD DEGRANE