Paris Center Stories: Alumni Club Honored

On October 8, the Columbia University Alumni Club of France was honored at the annual Columbia Alumni Leaders’ Weekend for its dedication and creativity in connecting the French alumni community with the Alma Mater.

By
Joelle Theubet
November 26, 2016

On October 8, the Columbia University Alumni Club of France was honored at the annual Columbia Alumni Leaders’ Weekend for its dedication and creativity in connecting the French alumni community with the Alma Mater. Four board members accepted the award at the annual gala dinner at Low Library, including President Jean-Pierre Reichenbach, Vice President Sophie Dorrer, Treasurer Anne Nouviaire, and Vincent Wong. 

The award comes on the heels of a successful year of implementing new strategies to accommodate the over 2,000 Columbians known to live and/or work in France.  By strengthening collaboration with Columbia Global Centers | Paris and the Columbia Undergraduate Programs in Paris, the club offered a diverse panorama of evening events, including conferences on the attractiveness of Europe for investors, the future of French Culture, and the revival of the Royal Opera of Versailles. The club has also been influential in helping launch the Columbia Sounds concert series.

New outreach efforts also included cultivating active alumni engagement through events for families and young professionals. Special events, like a Halloween Party and a Music Day for Families, were proposed on weekends and featured activities for parents as well as for young children. The two events attracted between 75 and 100 attendees, a record for the club.

In addition, the club continues its traditional Thanksgiving Dinner in a small Montmartre restaurant. This has become an annual event for the club, bringing a large sense of "fraternité" to French Columbians.