Alumni Relations & Volunteer Engagement

The Alumni Office is always here for you! Email us at alumni@reed.edu and we'll get right back to you. 

Our Mission

The Alumni Relations & Volunteer Engagement team works to build a lifelong partnership with all alumni, support a close-knit and dynamic alumni community across the globe, and nurture a philanthropic dedication to the college and future generations of Reedies. We aim to achieve these goals by creating an alumni experience that: captures the interests of our diverse alumni community; seeks to promote equity, inclusion, and justice in all aspects of our mission; builds a sense of loyalty; and increases involvement with and support for Reed.

Our Anti-Racist Commitment

The Alumni Relations & Volunteer Engagement team understands our responsibility to acknowledge and validate the grief, anger, isolation, and fear that have functioned as a part of the Reed experience for many alumni, both during and after their years on campus. Recognizing this, we are committed to collectively and individually dismantling systemic, institutional, and interpersonal racism within our office and the alumni community. As those entrusted to engage and support Reed alumni, we recognize our past failure to adequately acknowledge, speak to, and support Reedies from historically marginalized and minoritized racial and ethnic communities. We can and will do better.

At the urging of our Black colleagues, in response to feedback from the alumni community, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and national protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020, and with awareness in 2021 of the increased violence targeting the Asian American and Pacific Islanders community, we commit to centering anti-racist and inclusive practices in our work. These efforts are continuous and reflexive, and are being done in cooperation with our campus partners. Likewise, we are fortunate to be aided by our invaluable alumni leadership in our mission to better engage, include, and promote the contributions of Reedies of color. We believe it is critical to listen and respond to the concerns, needs, and desires of our diverse alumni community members. Likewise, we will ensure that alumni leadership, committees, and programming are reflective of our diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice priorities and goals.

We are undertaking a holistic review of our programming and engagement plans, in order to ensure our actions are aligned with our stated values. Examples include:

  • Supporting the Alumni Board Diversity and Inclusion Committee in its creation of identity-based alumni affinity networks and other resources 
  • Ensuring receptions for minoritized Reedies are a mainstay of Reunions
  • Evaluating our recruitment of Reedies of color for all volunteer initiatives
  • Inviting featured speakers that fully represent the diversity of the alumni community for Reed Remote talks and other panel events
  • Creating programming that addresses the distinct interests of the alumni community 
  • Encouraging and supporting diverse representation in all areas of alumni volunteer leadership

These efforts are only a starting point, but we are determined to achieve an alumni experience embedded in practices of equity and justice. Thank you for being a part of the alumni community, and for partnering with us in these commitments. 

Read Reed’s Diversity and Anti-Racism Statements here. 

Support Reedie-Owned Businesses

Looking for that next perfect gift? Want to support alumni running small businesses? Check out our Reedie-owned business directory! There are 120+ Reedie-owned businesses to explore. From handmade slippers to fine wines and fedoras to artisan originals, our directory highlights Reedie ingenuity at its best.

Reed Remote

Reed Remote features a variety of ways to engage with the alumni community from the comfort of your own home, including Reed Remote Talks by alumni, virtual TTT's, a virtual book club, Hum 110 lectures, and a plethora of other activities. Check it out here.

Want to help?

COVID-19 Communications

Find all college communications about COVID-19 here.

Have ideas on how our alumni community can make a difference or help one another out during this time? Email us and let us know, we're always ready to help at alumni@reed.edu. Stay safe and healthy.

Love, Reed.