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E jay Bfumfiéld will f€til`€ Augl1SI 31, 1990 E15 development program were already active in alumni affairs.”
director of the UK National Alumni Association Many alumni who take leadership roles in the Association
t • hiwiflg served Khff Association Bild thi? UHiV€fSiIy migrate to leadership roles with the Development program.
with loyalty and dedication for over 25 years. In 1971 the role ofthe Association shifted toward service to
He came as associate director in 1966, becoming director graduates and to building memberships. With that shift in
three years later when Helen King retired. emphasis came an increase in activities, and the growth of
Always focusing on communication with alumni, and in an alumni clubs, both inside and outside of the Commonwealth.
effort to keep all alumni in touch with UK, one of his first john Nichols, the first co-chairman of the jefferson County
projects was to establish a newsletter, the Open Door. Today Club remembers that the club was dormant for a few years
the Open Door is an eight-page quarterly tabloid sent to all before reorganizing in 1966 under Brumfield’s guidance. The
alumni, over 105,000 households. Hank Thompson, chairman first event after reorganization was a basketball banquet
of the Association’s publications committee, said, “Today the attended by 300 alumni. Coach Adolph Rupp was the
Open Door continues to hold a unique position in the featured speaker. Nichols remarked, “Brumfield would
University community as the only regular communication encourage other clubs saying, ‘whether you become a large
with alumni.” club or stay small, follow the actions ofjefferson County and
The UK National Alumni Association is one of the few you will have a successful club.’ We now have over 2,400
associations in the country to publish both a newspaper and a members, making it the largest UK alumni club."
membership magazine for alumni. The clubs, now about 65 nationwide, host popular events
_ While many alumni associations have been accused of that have become tradition——Derby parties, alumni tours,
  being only boosters for the athletics program, Brumfield has game parties with trips to Lexington, TV watch parties, and
concentrated on providing a well—rounded program for special speakers for club dinners. Club scholarship support
`_ alumni. The board of directors became a much more has grown from less than $2,500 to over $50,000 in the past
representative organization and was expanded from a core 10 years. The Alumni Association, through its alumni clubs,
group of only 10 people selected by the director to a 57- was the first to sponsor a higher education awareness rally
member body elected by geographic region. prior to the 1986 legislative session when severe budget cuts
Early in his tenure the decision was made for the Alumni for higher education were a real threat to the University`s
Association to give up fundraising, so that the Office of future. ·
Development could be established with the full-time Brumfield has always kept an eye on finances and one of
responsibility for raising private dollars. Paul Nickell recalled his major goals was to provide solid management of the
that Brumfield led the Association in the vital role of Association’s growing investment fund that helps support
launching the success of UK’s current development program. alumni projects. The $2 million Life Membership Investment
He said “The people the University needed for the Fund began with just a few thousand dollars in 1971.
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