CC students, alumni, faculty, and staff gather at Tutt Alumni House in April for the kick-off event for alumni of color.

Colorado College hosted a reception and dinner this spring for about 60 alumni, students, faculty, and staff of colorat Tutt Alumni House. The event, the first of its kind, brought together regional alumni and students of color specifically to network, share CC experiences, and talk about ways to build a stronger minority community on campus by establishing meaningful programming and traditions.

The kick-off event was a collaborative effort to offer targeted and sustainable block break programming consisting of lectures, field trips, and mentoring opportunities supported by Front Range alumni of color.

Auburn Clark and husband Jason Clark ’07

“We are excited about the many opportunities that this programming will create for individuals of color on the campus of Colorado College, whether students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, or prospective students and parents,” said Ann-Marie Manning, development officer for major gifts.

Plans already are under way for the upcoming academic year. Several alumni offered to return to campus in the fall to greet incoming students of color and to host events in Denver during block breaks. Roger Smith, director of the office of minority and international students, said this “is just the beginning of reinvigorating our alumni. We look forward to continued dialogue and discussions about points of synergy and integrated efforts across broad constituent groups.”

Becky Chenoweth ’12 left, and Lahya Shikongo ’12

“Today’s celebration is about the rich community that we belong to. More importantly, this celebration is to honor the individuals … who paved the way, blazed the trail, endured the unimaginable, so that today, we can stand proudly together … on this campus,” said Angela Hines ’82, P’12, P’13, associate director for alumni/parent relations.

The event was sponsored by the office of alumni and parent relations and annual giving, development, office of minority and international students, the Career Center, and office of campus activities.