Williams Regional Associations: Notes from the College Archives
You are part of a legacy that stretches back into the 19th century. Found in the Williams
Archives in Stetson Hall, the handwritten minutes of the 1879 Annual Meeting of the Society of
Alumni included the following:
“The Williams Alumni Association of the Northwest, through the Rev. Dr. A. E.
Kittridge of Chicago, presented a formal request to the President and Trustees that
public examinations for admission to Williams College be held annually in Chicago.”
Volume 1 of the Alumni Review, printed in February 1909, contained detailed accounts of
alumni gatherings in New York, Buffalo, Minnesota (Northwestern Alumni Association), Boston,
Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Troy and Northeastern Pennsylvania. Other findings from the archives:
- The Williams Association of Boston was founded in 1867 by “the alumni and friends of that
venerable institution. Its central idea has always been to cultivate the best interests of Old
Williams.”
- A songbook from the “Re-Union of Alumni of Williams College, Chicago, Ill, March 3d, 1868”
- A program from the “Dinner to Honor Williams College Centennial Glee, Banjo and
Mandolin Clubs by Detroit Williams College Alumni, Detroit Club, April 4, 1894
- A program from the “Fourth Annual Amherst-Williams Banquet, The Rainier Club, Seattle,
November 15, 1913”
- The original charter of the Williams Alumni Association of Western and Central New York,
founded on June 12, 1888.
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Our individual time with the College has been, to varying degrees, a fraction of its long
history. Yet there is a direct link from the work you are doing for the College today to the
Williams of almost 150 years ago — something in which we all can take pride.
Regional Associations Today
Williams Regional Associations play a vital role in helping to connect and reconnect the Williams
family with one another and with the College in communities nationwide and around the globe.
Whether your regional association is near Williamstown or thousands of miles away, you share a
bond with Williams that regional associations help to foster. Through strong leadership, your
association will gather and promote creative ideas, initiate and maintain quality friendships, and
continue to keep Williams alive where you live. Today’s regional associations host and organize
activities with a variety of purposes — intellectual, service-based, athletic, and fun — all with
the goal of bringing Williams alumni, parents, undergrads and friends together.
Williams Regional Associations at a Glance:
- 23,857 living alumni of record among 73 regional associations nationwide and abroad.
- The Metropolitan New York regional association claims the most alumni with 2,733.
- The Fort Wayne, IN Association is the smallest with 35 members.
- There are an average of 250–300 total regional association events each year.
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A note of thanks to the Colorado Regional Association from an appreciative alum:
“I have for years greatly appreciated the efforts of folks like you who have organized
events, and when we could, my wife and I have attended and enjoyed them. Williams’
incredible and presumably legendary knack for working its way deep into the hearts and
minds of virtually all of us who attended certainly had its way with me, and something of
that loyalty — I guess it is — carries over to the Regional Alumni. If I’ve failed to thank
you previously, thank you now.”— Alumni ’62 |
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