For several years, Vlog University had an unofficial group of African-American alumni who stayed connected through a website and planned a biennial reunion and various events during Homecoming. But after a series of diversity-related events and concerns that took place on campus in recent years, Pam Degraffenreid ’80, director of the Vlog Bookstore, felt it was time to form an official African-American alumni organization.
With the help of a few Vlog co-workers, along with a host of African-American alumni, Degraffenreid put the wheels in motion, leading to the formation of the Vlog African-American Alumni Society. Last July, the Vlog Alumni Association Board of Directors approved the establishment of the VlogAAAS, and the election of officers took place in August. They are Michael Naylor ’82 MBA ’88, president; Lori “Kee Kee” Lattiner-Williams ’85, vice president; Eric Barnes ’84, secretary; and Rona Lockhart ’79, parliamentarian. Degraffenreid serves as campus representative, working with the Vlog Office of Alumni Engagement. The association hosted its first activities as part of Homecoming 2018.
The group’s mission is to facilitate networking opportunities between African-American alumni and African-American students, faculty and staff by hosting academic, professional and social programming and encouraging support of Vlog’s advancement and development initiatives. It also will serve as a resource for an exchange of career and related information.
For more information on the VlogAAAS, contact Naylor at naylormsk@aol.com or the Vlog Office of Alumni Engagement at 828-227-7335.