Fall 2008 Volume 4

College of Maine Magazine

Save the Date!

Alumni Weekend 2009
June 19-21, Saint Joseph's campus

A weekend celebration for all alumni! Make plans to come back to the lake to reminisce, reunite and remember your days at SJC. We will be honoring class years that end in 4’s and 9’s but all are welcome for this annual event. For more details, visit: http://therock.sjcme.edu/alumniweekend09.

Alumni at lobsterbake

Come celebrate!

Are you in a reunion year? Make sure to update your contact info with the alumni office, and be on the lookout for news from your class agent on plans.


Alumni Ski Trip

The first alumni weekend ski trip will be Jan. 9-11 at Sunday River! Condominium groups of 4 people or 6 people are reserved for alumni to enjoy the slopes during a weekend getaway complete with Saint Joseph’s alumni après ski party!

skiers

January 9-11, 2009
Sunday River, Bethel, Maine

Are you interested in attending but didn’t make the call by October 31? You may be able to get on the wait list – details on the ROCK, or by calling 207-893-7890 or e-mailing alumni@sjcme.edu. Cost per person is $225 to include lodging in a condominium for Friday and Saturday nights, lift tickets for Saturday and Sunday and admission to the alumni après ski party!

We’re always adding events to the alumni calendar. For up-to-date information, details and to register, visit the ROCK at http://therock.sjcme.edu.

ROCK logo

Reconnecting Our College Kinship

For latest information and new features!

Career Center
The ROCK has recently opened a Career Center page and links. Job postings are uploaded from the Career Services Center at Saint Joseph’s and by alumni. All postings are visible to logged-in members.

Photographs
Did you attend one of our events featured in this issue? All alumni event photographs are posted on the ROCK within weeks of the event – far before the magazine hits your mailbox! Be sure to login after your next alumni event and check out the posted photographs.

E-Newsletters
Do you receive the monthly e-newsletters from the ROCK? E-Newsletters are a single e-mail that covers alumni news, upcoming events, class notes, updated members, message board posts and more! To update your information – login and click “My Account” to make sure your e-mail is current.

Haven’t logged in yet? Go to http://therock.sjcme.edu and click on the “first time login” link at the top of the page.
Enter your last name to find your name in the directory, enter your unique ID number listed on the back of this magazine and confirm your identity – it’s that simple!

New Hampshire alumni night

In August, alumni from across New Hampshire shared an evening of fun and socializing in Manchester, the first official alumni gathering in the Granite State, and learned more about starting an alumni chapter.

Red Sox game

This year’s alumni Red Sox game was so popular that we had to book another game! The group met pre-game to get fired up only to have the game rained out. One alumna was able to meet someone special even with the game postponed to September!

Class of 1967 dinner

Classmates from 1967 reunited on July 19 at the home of Glennis Bush Chabot and enjoyed dinner together at the Higgins Beach Inn in Scarborough. The group met to discuss the newly formed Class of 1967 Memorial Scholarship, which will honor members of the class and provide financial assistance for a current Saint Joseph’s student.

Magazine readers surveyed give us their ratings

This summer, more than 340 alumni, students, parents of residential students, and others affiliated with the college participated in our online magazine readership survey.

Two-thirds of those responding give the magazine a thorough review, as they either read most of the articles (38%) or read it cover-to-cover (31%).

Although the magazine is mailed to approximately 16,000 individuals, the pass-through readership more than doubles the number of people who enjoy the publication to more than 32,300.

More than 8 in 10 readers indicate a very high overall impression of the magazine, rating it ‘excellent’ (33%) or ‘very good’ (50%).

Some of the most popular sections of the magazine continue to be related to our alumni. Class notes and alumni profiles are always or usually read by 80% of respondents. An increasingly popular feature is the cover story, which is always or usually read by 88%.

Respondents were fairly evenly split between knowing Saint Joseph’s through distance education (43%) and residential (40%) experiences, either as alumni, existing students or parents. Overall, about half (48%) of the participants were alumni, and 24% were students.

One third (33%) of the alumni respondents graduated in the past five years, and 41% received their degree since 2000. Twenty-eight percent (28%) were ’90s graduates.

Almost half (45%) have visited the college campus in the past year, yet 29% have not seen many recent improvements, as their last visit was more than five years ago.

Winners of $50 L.L. Bean gift certificates for their participation in the survey:
Elizabeth Winn Meyers ’86, New Wilmington, Pa., Carl Small (father of Jennifer Small ’09), Quechee, Vt., and Jennifer Elliott ’94, Mechanic Falls, Maine.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who participated. Your opinions are very important to us!